The wounds of Hoan Kiem Lake’s giant turtle have been healed after a month of treatment and it is now free of fungal diseases, said Hanoi Science and Technology Department’s director Le Xuan Rao.

Rao said medical examinations of the legendary turtle, thought to be one of the most endangered species of turtles in the world, are conducted once a week.

“After the Hoan Kiem Lake is dredged, the turtle will be put back to the natural environment. A roof is being built to enable take the turtle from the tank to the lake and vice versa,” Rao added.

Hanoi’s Vice Chairman, Nguyen Van Khoi asked relevant departments and branches to propose the best solution to attach monitoring equipment on the turtle for its future periodic medical examinations.

He also assigned the department to analyze the quality of the lake’s water and mud at dredged areas to find out the best solutions to clean up the remaining areas of the lake, so the turtle can be soon released back into the lake.

Prof. Dang Duy Huynh, Chair of the Vietnam Zoology Association, said that mounting tracking device onto the turtle is necessary to monitor his health and his life.

Dr. Bui Quang Te, head of the turtle treatment group, noted that the most necessary and the long-term solution to protect the ancient turtle is cleaning up the Hoan Kiem Lake.

The cleaning of Hoan Kiem Lake project consists of dredging mud, pumping clean water into the lake and preventing restaurants around the lake to discharge waste water into the lake.

The funding for this project is provided by four private companies, totaling VND8 billion ($400,000).

PV