Near-extinct giant turtle found in Vietnam
by friver ~ April 17th, 2008. Filed under: Animals.
Pictured above is a Swinhoe’s soft-shelled turtle, the largest freshwater turtle in the world. Only three are currently in captivity, and none were thought to exist in the wild until the news broke out that researchers from the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo Asian Turtle Program found and shot video footage of a live specimen in a lake in northern Vietnam.
Cute they are not, but these things can weigh as much as two fully-grown humans, and are revered in Vietnam as a mythological being who once bestowed a magic sword upon the Vietnamese people’s ancestors with which they fought off Chinese invaders in the 16th century.
The legend reminds me of the Lady of the Lake from the King Arthur stories… just a little less sexy, maybe.
April 17th, 2008 at 8:09 pm
Wht is the weight, diameter, lenght ect…? How old is this turtle? Male/female ?
April 19th, 2008 at 6:37 am
They can weigh up to 300 pounds and grow up to 3½ feet long.
For more information, go to asianturtlenetwork.org.
The one found in Vietnam wasn’t captured, just caught on film.