One of the world's only three Hoan Kiem turtles has been found dead
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One of only three Hoan Kiem turtles left in the world has died at a Hanoi lake.
According to an article by VN Express International, Phung Huy Vinh, head of the economic department of Son Tay Town, said an official from a non-profit turtle protection group discovered the corpse of the dead Swinhoe's softshell turtle at Dong Mo Lake on Sunday.
"Its cause of death has yet to be confirmed," Vinh said.
The animal was chipped and released into the lake in 2020 to roam freely in its natural habitat.
The dead turtle was reported as being 1.56 m long and weighing 93 kg by an IMC non-profit official overseeing a project for the conservation of the Hoan Kiem turtle.
Researchers will now attempt to determine its age and cause of death.
The species was first described in 1873, but there is little research on its kind.
Only four specimens of its kind now exist: two in China, one in Dong Mo Lake, and the other in Xuan Khanh Lake, both in Hanoi.
Great grandfather turtle
The last known turtle, known to locals as "Cụ Rùa," meaning “great grandfather turtle” in Vietnamese, was reported dead on January 19, 2016, when a resident spotted the turtle's body floating in the water and reported it to the authorities.
Meanwhile, the turtle in Dong Mo was first detected by conservationists in 2007. In 2020, genetic analysis revealed at least one more similar turtle living in the lake.
A photo once surfaced of the two turtles together with their heads above the water.
A plan for the conservation of the softshell turtles by the Hanoi People’s Committee for 2021-2025 suggested that experts breed the turtles for conservation purposes, stated VN Express International.
The recent death of this last specimen could spell doom for the species not being appropriately conserved.
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