", World's Largest Freshwater Turtle Nearly Extinct, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/7/130703-china-yangtze-giant-softshell-turtle-animal-science.html, "Pictures: Turtles Hunted, Traded, Squeezed Out of Their Habitats. No turtle is more critically endangered than the Yangtze giant softshell turtle – with sad news that the last known (at the time) female of the species died on April 13, 2019, only three individuals were thought to exist; two in Vietnam and one at the Suzhou Zoo in China, believed to be more than 100 years old. And this alone has driven the population down to fewer than 10,000 individuals, earning the species a critically endangered designation. For example, each year, poachers nab more than 55,000 Indian star tortoises from the scrublands of India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka so that they can be smuggled into China and Thailand as potential pets. Only four giant softshell Yangtze turtles remain: a male and female in China and two males in Vietnam. A male Rafetus swinhoei (also known as Yangtze giant softshell turtle) is seen after being collected sperm at Suzhou Zoo, May 6, 2015, in Suzhou, Jiangsu province of China. Europe doesn’t make much of an appearance in the “State of the Turtles” paper, but it isn’t because the European Union is especially good at turtle conservation. (The Yangtze giant softshell turtle, which is down to less than a handful of individuals, comes to mind.) The recent tale of the critically endangered Yangtze giant softshell turtle, found both in China’s Yangtze River Delta and in northern Vietnam, has taken conservationists for a ride over the rapids the past 15 years, as hope for the species appeared to die … Their reproductive cycle also doesn’t do them any favors in this regard. The Yangtze giant softshell turtle is listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN Red List, but may be virtually extinct in the wild. The tortoises require a specific assortment of plants found in a Mediterranean-like habitat, known as the renosterveld. ", The team doesn't know how much longer the zoo turtles will live or continue to mate, but scientists suspect Yangtze giant softshells can live well over a hundred years. Discovery means at least one male and one female are now known to exist It is one of the most endangered animals in the world.. What was the last known female Yangtze giant soft-shell turtle died in a Suzhou zoo in China in 2019. A female Yangtze Giant Softshell Turtle (Rafetus swinhoei) has been discovered in Vietnam! Since 2006, no Yangtze giant softshell turtle has been found in the Red River Valley. Conservationists hoping to save the Yangtze giant softshell turtle from extinction are hoping that this female (basking beside the water's edge) will mate with the only known male of … A Yangtze giant softshell turtle—one of the last four known—gets a checkup in Hanoi, Vietnam, in 2011. Of the 360 turtle and tortoise species currently recognized, more than half of them (that is, 187 species) meet the criteria for “threatened with extinction” on International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. They’ve outlived the dinosaurs, but these ancient reptiles are currently in danger of disappearing from just about everywhere. Scientists release genetic results confirming a female turtle captured in October 2020 in Viet Nam is definitively the near extinct Swinhoe’s softshell turtle (Rafetus swinhoei) – also known as the Yangtze giant softshell turtle and Hoan Kiem turtle; Discovery means at least one male and one female are now known to exist All that said, living long and slow has worked just fine for turtles and tortoises for hundreds of millions of years. Stopping the international trade in turtles and tortoises would help as well. Endangered Giant – The critically endangered Yangtze giant softshell turtle is one of the largest freshwater turtle species in the world, weighing in at a massive 220 lbs! Scientists aim to ensure that the turtles are given the chance to breed and save the species from the brink of extinction. In May 2008, after much red tape, the female finally arrived in Suzhou. The technology detects telltale bits of genetic material that living creatures shed into their environment. Pro-extinction Policies Do Not Sit Well With Americans, Whatever Their Stripe. We got ourselves into this mess. It is also the rarest. There's only this pair—if we lose one, especially the female, we don't have any chance. More than 90 percent of the geometric tortoise’s former habitat has been destroyed, making it critically endangered and one of the rarest land tortoises left on earth. © 1996-2015 National Geographic Society, © 2015- Now, a total of four animals are known—two wild males in Vietnam and the mating pair at Suzhou Zoo. A month later, the female laid her first clutch of 45 eggs on the zoo enclosure's beach, 32 of which were incubated. They were here before the dinosaurs and have been scooching along ever since. A female Yangtze giant soft-shell turtle, the world's most endangered turtle, was discovered in Vietnam. (The Yangtze giant softshell turtle, which is down to less than a handful of individuals, comes to mind.) Myriad reasons exist for the decline of these armored animals. Later that month, a second batch was equally infertile. We still hope for the pitter-patter splash of … The species is endemic to eastern and southern China and northern Vietnam. 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