Scientists announced that they have
discovered the natural habitat of a rare turle species, the Vietnamese box
turtle (Cuora picturata), in forests on the Langbian Plateau in the Central
Highlands province of Lam Dong.

Scientists from the HCM City University of Natural Sciences did field surveys
from July last year to January together with a colleague from the US-based North
Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, according to a press release from the
University.

They
found eight turtles at various locations on the plateau.

“This
discovery provides foundation for conservation of the Vietnamese box turtle and
hope for determining the wild origin of other rare turtle species,” the
scientists said.

Conservation activities like habitat protection and wildlife rehabilitation
could only be effective when the natural ranges of animals were clearly known,
they added.

This
endangered turtle was first discovered in 1998 in HCM City because of the
illegal wildlife trade but scientists had never saw it in the wild until now.

The
natural habitats of many Asian turtle species remained a mystery to scientists,
they said.

Meanwhile, the illegal poaching and trading of turtle for cooking, traditional
medicine, and pets have taken many species to the brink of extinction.

VietNamNet/Viet
Nam News