Yangtze Turtle Nears Extinction After Last Known Female Found Dead

A female Yangtze softshell turtle was found dead in Vietnam last week, leaving the species on the brink of extinction. According to Vietnam's state media, it was the last known female of the species. Only two known males remain - one in Suzhou Zoo in China and another in Hanoi's Xuan Khanh Lake. The carcass of the female turtle was found floating in Hanoi's Dong Mo Lake. It was found by a non-profit turtle protection group, as per the local economic department head Phung Huy Vinh who spoke to Vietnam's VN Express.

The reptile weighed 93 kg and was just over 5 feet long, according to Time Magazine. It may have died several days before it was found.

The reason for the turtle's death remains unknown.

Speaking to Time on Friday, Tim McCormack, director of the Asian Turtle Program for Indo-Myanmar Conservation, said: "It is the same individual that we've been monitoring in recent years. It's a real blow." 

Mr McCormack said local authorities will soon carry out a genetic test of the carcass to verify its identity.

"It was a large female that obviously has great reproductive capacity. She could have potentially laid a hundred eggs or more a year," the expert said.

The turtle was first found swimming in the Dong Mo Lake in 2020, giving researchers hope that the species can be reinvigorated naturally.

The Yangtze turtles - the largest among freshwater species - were decimated after their habitat was destroyed and illegal hunting flourished, according to the Asian Turtle Programme website.

Vietnam and Chinese researchers have attempted to artificially inseminate the female turtles of the species since 2008, but all efforts have proved unsuccessful.

Before this, another female Yangtze turtle - the penultimate surviving female - died in 2019 after she was put under general anaesthetic.