Rare Giant Turtle Found

CLEVELAND (AP) — Researchers from the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo have discovered a rare giant turtle in northern Vietnam, giving scientists hope for the species they believed was extinct in the wild.

The three other known Swinhoe's soft-shell turtles are in captivity, said experts from the Zoo's Asian turtle program. The discovery represents hope for the species, said Doug Hendrie, the Vietnam-based coordinator of the zoo program.

Turtle expert Peter Pritchard, president of the Chelonian Research Institute, confirmed the find based on a photo Hendrie showed him.

“It looked like pretty solid evidence. The animal has a pretty distinctive head,” Pritchard said.
The turtle remains in the lake and researchers have notified the Vietnamese government of its existence, Hendrie said.

There have been rumors for years of a mythical creature living deep in the waters of a northern Vietnam lake. Some in a village west of Hanoi claimed to be blessed by catching a glimpse of its concave shell as it crested above the surface of their lake.

A national legend tells of a giant golden turtle that bestowed upon the Vietnamese people a magic sword and victory over Chinese invaders in the 16th century.

“This is one of those mythical species that people always talked about but no one ever saw,” said Geoff Hall, zoo general curator.

Of the other three Swinhoe's soft-shell turtles, two are in Chinese zoos and the other is cared for in the Hoan Kiem (“Returned Sword”) Lake in downtown Hanoi — the lake in which the legendary turtle appeared to reclaim the sword from the emperor.

The Cleveland Metroparks Zoo began its effort to preserve and protect Asian turtles in 2003 amid reports of increased killings for food or to make traditional medicine from their bones. Development and pollution also led to loss of nesting habitats along rivers, zoo officials said.

-- The Associated Press

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Image Credit: Cleveland Metroparks Zoo