VietNamNet Bridge – The legendary turtle in Hanoi’s Hoan Kiem lake is now healthy and it
can return to the natural environment. However, Hoan Kiem lake is still
polluted.

Dr. Bui Quang Te,
chief of the turtle treatment group, said that the turtle cannot return to its
natural environment right now because the lake is not cleaned yet. However, if
the turtle lives in cage for a long time, its skills to live naturally may be
affected.

Te said the latest
tests of Hoan Kiem lake’s water showed that the water contained a lot of
bacteria, fungi, toxic algae, etc.

“Putting the turtle
back into the lake when the water is still polluted, means that the treatment
for the Hoan Kiem turtle will become useless. We have asked the Hanoi authorities to
urgently clean the lake,” Te said.

The turtle can
return to its natural environment in two-three weeks. However, just a small
area of Hoan Kiem Lake
has been cleaned and it is scheduled to finish the job in 2-3 months.

Experts say that
2-3 months is a long time and it can harm wild animal habits.

Dr. Nguyen Viet
Vinh, a member of the turtle treatment group, said that if the legendary turtle
lives in the cage for a long time, it would be familiar to the cage and to the
cooking supplied by man. The turtle is highly possible tamed.

“The most important
task right now is cleaning the Hoan
Kiem Lake,”
Dr. Vinh emphasized.

“Though the turtle
lives in the clean tank, it still lacks natural substances in mud, which can
make new diseases for the turtle. In addition, the turtle can be shocked when
it returns to the natural environment,” Vinh added.

Experts also
worried that the “sanatorium” for the turtle is made by steel while the summer
is coming. “The temperature in the steel tank will increase highly and it is
dangerous for the turtle,” Vinh said.

The treatment group
proposed to build a roof for the sanatorium but it is not enough to ensure the
coolness inside the tank in the hot summer.

Prof. Dang Huy
Huynh, Chair of the Vietnam Zoology Association, said that the turtle cannot
live for a long time on land. He proposed to speed up the cleaning of Hoan Kiem
Lake and to prevent waste
water from restaurants located around the lake.

Dr. Te said that
Hoan Kiem lake should be cleaned by biological methods to facilitate the
development of fish, as natural food for the turtle.

“When we netted the
turtle early this month, we didn’t catch any fish. It proved that the lake was
seriously polluted and the source of fish for the turtle was in shortage,” Te
said.

PV