Hoan Kiem turtle
| Hoan Kiem turtle | |
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| Hoan Kiem turtle | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Sauropsida |
| Order: | Testudines |
| Family: | Trionychidae |
| Genus: | Rafetus |
| Species: | R. leloii |
| Binomial name | |
| Rafetus leloii[1][2] (Duc, 2000) |
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The Hoan Kiem turtle (Rafetus leloii) is a species of turtle from Southeast Asia. Its status as a distinct species is questionable, with the most recent review strongly suggesting Rafetus leloii is a synonym of Rafetus swinhoei.[1]
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[edit] Mythology
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Stories of the Hoan Kiem turtle began in the fifteenth century with Lê Lợi, who became an emperor of Vietnam and founder of the Lê Dynasty. According to legend, Lê Lợi had a magic sword given to him by Kim Qui, the Golden Turtle God. One day, not long after the Chinese had accepted Vietnam's independence, Lê Lợi was out boating on a lake in Hanoi. Suddenly a large turtle surfaced, took the sword from Lê Lợi, and dove back into the depths. Efforts were made to find both the sword and the turtle, but without success. Lê Lợi then acknowledged the sword had gone back to the Golden turtle God and renamed the lake Hoan Kiem Lake (or Ho Guom), "The Lake of the Returned Sword".
[edit] Rediscovery
Near the northern shore of Hoan Kiem Lake lies Jade Island, on which the Temple of the Jade Mountain is located. On June 2, 1967 a Hoan Kiem turtle died, and was preserved and placed on display in the temple. That particular specimen weighed 200 kg (440 lbs) and measured 1.9 meters long (6 ft 3in).[3] Until that time, no one was sure if the species still lived.
Professor Ha Dinh Duc gave the Hoan Kiem turtle its scientific name, Rafetus leloii.[3]
On March 24, 1998 an amateur cameraman caught the creature on video, conclusively proving the elusive creatures still survived in the lake.[4] Prior to its recent rediscovery, the turtles were thought to be only a legend and were classified as cryptozoological.[5]
As of 2008, three Hoam Kiem turtles were in captivity, two of them in Chinese zoos. Another was being taken care of in the Hoan Kiem Lake.[6]
By the Spring of 2011, concerned with the creature's more frequent than usual surfacing, and apparent lesions on its body, the city authorities started attempts to capture the giant reptile of Hoam Kiem Lake, and take it for medical treatment. On February 9, a local turtle farm operator, KAT Group, was chosen to prepare a suitable net to capture the sacred animal.[7] The first attempt, on March 8, 2011 failed, as the turtle made a hole in the net with which the workers tried to capture it, and escaped.[8] An expert commented, "It's hard to catch a large, very large soft-shell turtle."[7] On March 31, in an unusual act, the turtle went to the shore to bask in the sun.[9] Finally, on April 3, 2011 the giant turtle was netted in an operation that involved members of the Vietnamese military. The captured creature was put into an enclosure constructed on an island in the middle of the lake, for study and treatment.[8][10]
[edit] Classification
R. leloii is now generally believed to be identical to, and therefore a synonym of, R. swinhoei.[1]
Duc has also hypothesized that Emperor Thái Tổ of the Lê Dynasty brought the turtles from Thanh Hóa Province and released them in Hoan Kiem Lake. Recently, Duc and some researchers found skeletons of giant turtles in Yen Bai, Phu Tho and Hoa Binh Provinces.[3]
[edit] Conservation concerns
Professor Duc believes that there is only one specimen left in the Hoan Kiem Lake.[3] Peter Pritchard, a renowned turtle biologist, believes that there are no more than five specimens left.[11]
The lake itself is both small and shallow, measuring 200 meters wide, 600 meters long, and only two meters deep. It is also badly polluted, although the turtles could conceivably live underwater indefinitely, coming to the surface only for an occasional gulp of air or a bit of sun. According to Pritchard, the turtles are threatened by municipal "improvements" around the lake. The banks have been almost entirely cemented over, leaving only a few yards of rocky beach where a turtle might find a place to bury her clutches of 100 or more eggs.[11]
Plans are underway to clean the lake of pollution, and the construction of an artificial beach has been proposed to facilitate breeding.[4] Dredging the lake, to clean up its bottom, was carried out in March 2011.[7]
Professor Duc is currently organizing people to protect this animal and is quoted as saying, "We hope that we will find a partner for the turtle in Ho Guom, so that our legendary animal could avoid extinction." [3]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Farkas, B and Webb, R.G. 2003. Rafetus leloii Hà Dinh Dúc, 2000—an invalid species of softshell turtle from Hoan Kiem Lake, Hanoi, Vietnam (Reptilia, Testudines, Trionychidae). Zool. Abhandl. (Dresden), 53: 107-112.
- ^ Asian Turtle Trade Working Group 2000. Rafetus swinhoei. In: IUCN 2010. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2010.4. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 23 April 2011.
- ^ a b c d e VietNamNet Bridge
- ^ a b "CNN - Giant turtle sightings set Vietnam capital abuzz - Apr. 13, 1998". http://www.cnn.com/EARTH/9804/13/vietnam.turtles.ap/.[dead link]
- ^ The Field Guide To LAKE MONSTERS, SEA SERPENTS, and other mystery denizens of the deep, Loren Coleman and Patrick Huyghe, 2003, ISBN 1-58542-252-5
- ^ Yahoo - Rare giant turtle found in Vietnam - Apr. 17, 2008
- ^ a b c An Dien; Minh Hung (2011-03-11), "Turtle hurdle", Thanh Nien Daily, http://www.thanhniennews.com/2010/Pages/20110311101936.aspx
- ^ a b John Ruwitch, Vietnam finally nets legendary turtle for treatment, Reuters, 2011-04-04
- ^ Legendary turtle sunbathes, VietNamNet Bridge, 2011-04-01
- ^ Helen Clark; Brian Webb (2011-04-05), "Hanoi's Reclusive Lake Turtle Forced Out of Its Shell", Time, http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2063308,00.html
- ^ a b Sphere - turtle
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Rafetus leloii |
