In 2014, they used genetic tools to confirm the turtle was a member of the species. They hired fishermen to keep an eye on the turtle and continued work on habitat improvement, community awareness and further surveys to find additional Swinhoe’s softshell turtles. McCormack and his colleagues finally caught a break in 2007 when a team member managed to get a photo of a Swinhoe’s softshell turtle discovered in Dong Mo lake, in an area west of Hanoi. Searches in China, where the species is commonly known as the Yangtze giant softshell turtle, were also discouraging. He turned up a few shells in peoples’ homes, and most fishermen told him that the once-bountiful animal had disappeared. In 2003, Tim McCormack, director of the Asian Turtle Program, began surveying rivers where the species historically lived. The species was heavily hunted for food and hammered by habitat destruction. The sacred status of the Swinhoe’s softshell turtles living in Hoan Kiem lake did not extend to members of the same species living elsewhere in Vietnam, however. When the battle was over, the king gave the sword to a turtle god in Hoan Kiem lake in central Hanoi. In the 15th century, a well-known folk tale goes, Vietnam’s king, Le Loi, used a magical sword to defeat the Ming dynasty army. Swinhoe’s softshell turtles, which can weigh more than 370 pounds, be more than 6-feet long and live for over 100 years, hold a special cultural significance in Vietnam, where they are known as Hoan Kiem - “returned sword” - turtles.
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“Even people who don’t work in conservation, my friends and family, saw it on national TV and were like, ‘Oh! There’s new hope!’” “This is very big news in Vietnam,” said Hoang Bich Thuy, the country director for the Wildlife Conservation Society. At the same time, exhaustive hunts for other surviving Swinhoe’s softshell turtles in Vietnam have verified at least two other promising leads. Conservationists and veterinarians recently announced that the Vietnamese turtle is a female.
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This left the confirmed tally for the species at just two individuals: the male in China, plus one individual of unknown sex in a lake in Vietnam. The last known female of the species, Swinhoe’s softshell turtle, died after an artificial insemination procedure at the Chinese zoo where she and her mate lived. Please join us by becoming a member today.In 2019, the world’s rarest turtle suffered a staggering loss. The Turtle Conservancy relies on donors like you to help us in the fight to conserve the planet’s remaining turtle and tortoise species. Turtles are among the most endangered vertebrates on the planet, with over half of all species threatened by extinction. By the time they were recognized as a separate species, only a handful of very old animals remained and field studies were no longer possible. Conservationists theorize that hunting and severe pollution led to the species’ rapid decline. Historically, little has been known about the Yangtze Giant Softshell Turtle because for many years the validity of the species was not recognized, and its occasional sightings and specimens were attributed to more common and widespread species. The loss of this turtle underscores the importance of establishing conservation programs long before only a few individuals remain. This is a tragic outcome for a team of dedicated conservationists who did everything they could to save the species from extinction. The team spearheading the Chinese Rafetus conservation program had tried naturally breeding this female for many years with no success. Extinction now looms over the Yangtze Giant Softshell Turtle, one of the largest species of freshwater turtle in the world.