VietNamNet Bridge – A fisherman in Dong Mo commune, Son Tay city, Hanoi caught a big turtle which escaped from Dong Mo Lake. This turtle belongs to the same family as the old turtle in Hoan Kiem Lake and is one of only four known specimens in the world.

The turtle was released at 5.45pm, November 26.

The turtle is thought to have escaped from Dong Mo Lake into the Coc River during the recent historic flood in Hanoi. It was caught by a fisherman named Nguyen Van Toan.

Hundreds of people went to Toan’s home to see the rare turtle. Present at Toan’s house on Wednesday was Douglas Hendrie, representative of Education of Nature (ENV). He said he and his colleagues had been there since the early morning to wait for a decision about the turtle to be made by officials. EVN and other wildlife preservation organisations wanted the turtle to be returned to Dong Mo Lake, its home.

This is an important turtle species not only for Vietnam but also the whole world, emphasised Douglas.

Immediately when it heard the big turtle had been caught, EVN sent staffs to Dong Mo commune to tell local residents how to protect the turtle and combine with the local government to prevent local people from selling it.

After nearly one day of negotiation, Toan and his wife agreed to release the rare turtle into Dong Mo Lake in exchange for a small amount of money from ENV.

The rare turtle is 68kg in weight. Its body had several wounds. The turtle was very strong when Toan caught it. The fisherman’s two nets were torn and he suffered some small injuries.

According to ENV’s representative, this turtle’s scientific name is Rafetus Swinhoei and it belongs to the same family as the old turtle in Hanoi’s Hoan Kiem Lake. This species of turtle lives in the Red River valley and southern China.

Scientists said that there are only four known individuals of this species of turtle in the world: two in a Chinese zoo, the one in Hoan Kiem Lake and this turtle.

According to ENV’s Douglas, the International Turtle Preservation Organization has taken many surveys in different areas of Vietnam and last year they discovered this turtle in Dong Mo Lake. Experts of the Asian Turtle Preservation Program worked with local people to tell them how to preserve this turtle.

The turtle was put back into Dong Mo Lake on the same day.

(Source: Tien Phong)