IMAGE: Du Bin for The New York Times

Turtles and tortoises are swimming and crawling towards extinction. Habitat degradation, loss, and fragmentation, due to population growth and expansion, have had negative impacts on wildlife. Furthermore, since rarer species and higher demand can result in higher prices for certain species, the bushmeat and pet trades have adversely affected turtle and tortoise populations worldwide. 

Asia has a number of remarkable giant softshell turtles, which are poorly known and are very rare. For example, the Yangtze giant softshell turtle is represented in captivity by just one male and a single female. Additionally, a single specimen of giant soft shell turtle from Hoan Kiem Lake, which is located in the heart of the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi, may be the last of its kind.

Furthermore, conservation efforts can turn political. The New York Times has information on how zoo politics may doom the Yangtze giant soft-shell turtle :

Extinction remains a far more immediate possibility for the Yangtze giant soft-shell. Next year, scientists will make a search in southwestern China in hopes of finding another Yangtze giant soft-shell in the wild.

In September, the Changsha and Suzhou zoos finally reached a deal. Neither wanted to move its turtle. But each agreed that scientists could attempt artificial insemination next spring. Each also signed a contract entitling a certain number of offspring for each zoo — potential stud turtles for future captive breeding programs.

Gerald Kuchling, a herpetologist overseeing the procedure, said success was far from guaranteed. Several years ago, a tortoise in Hawaii died after a similar procedure. In May, Dr. Kuchling conducted an ultrasound examination of the ovaries of the female turtle in Changsha. For years, she has laid unfertilized eggs in springtime, though zookeepers say the number has steadily diminished, to about 20.

Image via the AFP

UPDATE 1 (4 April 11): The critically endangered Hoan Kiem turtle was recently captured, and it was examined after witnesses reported seeing lesions on the giant turtle. According to Wikipedia, “there are only four known to survive in Vietnam and China: one each at Hoan Kiem Lake, Hanoi and Dong Anh, Hanoi, Vietnam, an 80-year-old female in Changsha Zoo and a 100-year-old male in Suzhou Zoo.” More via the The Denver Post:

Veterinarians examined a rare giant turtle considered sacred by many Vietnamese at a makeshift hospital in Hanoi on Monday to check mysterious lesions afflicting one of the last four known members of its species.

The giant soft-shell turtle, which has a shell the size of a desk and is estimated to weigh about 440 pounds (200 kilograms), was pulled from a lake in the heart of the capital on Sunday.

.       .       .

It is the first time anyone has captured the creature, which escaped through two nets during a similar rescue attempt last month.

.       .       .

Concerns had mounted after the turtle was recently spotted with lesions on its head and shell, prompting the government to form committees and employ hundreds of workers to frantically clean debris and pollution from the lake.

The species, Rafetus swinhoei, is one of the world’s most endangered freshwater turtles. There is one other male turtle of the same species in another lake in Vietnam and a male and female at a zoo in China, where a breeding program has so far proved unsuccessful. The gender of the Hoan Kiem turtle remains a mystery, since it would require turning the animal upside down to be able to fully examine the tail, McCormack said.

While the Hoan Kiem turtle will likely be off limits to any kind of breeding program because of its cultural status, he said he’s hopeful an exchange can be set up between China and Vietnam to include the other male turtle.
But its value to the nation has more to do with the centuries-old myth than with its rarity.

Continue reading about the capture of the Hoan Kiem turtle at The Denver Post.

IMAGES of Pyxis arachnoides by Buck Denton. © all rights reserved

Madagascar’s tortoises face extinction from the illegal pet trade. In addition, they are consumed as bushmeat. Both activities place pressure on populations that are already stressed by habitat loss. More via ScienceDaily:

Madagascar’s turtles and tortoises, which rank among the most endangered reptiles on earth, will continue to crawl steadily toward extinction unless major conservation measure are enacted, according to a recent assessment by the Wildlife Conservation Society and other groups.

The groups, which met for four days in Madagascar’s capital city Antananarivo, said there is still hope to save these ancient animals, but time is running out as their habitat continues to shrink and illegal hunting worsens. Five of the nine assessed species have been downgraded to critically endangered, with one variety — the ploughshare tortoise — now numbering only a few hundred individuals. The other critically endangered species include the radiated tortoise, flat-tailed tortoise, spider tortoise and Madagascar big-headed turtle, all of which are found nowhere else on earth.

The New York Times image was found here, and the Hoan Kiem Turtle image was found here.

References:

1. Lone Vietnamese Turtle May Be Last Of Its Kind
2. Rare Soft-Shell Turtle, Nesting Ground Found In Cambodia
3. Asian Turtle Conservation Network – ATCN Homepage
4. Asian Turtle Conservation Program