Hoan Kiem turtle

Hoan Kiem turtle
Hoan Kiem turtle
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Sauropsida
Order:	Testudines
Family:	Trionychidae
Genus:	Rafetus
Species:	R. leloii
Binomial name
Rafetus leloii (Duc, 2000)

The Hoan Kiem turtle (Rafetus leloii) is a controversial taxon of turtle from Southeast Asia, with one known living specimen in Hoan Kiem lake in Vietnam. Its status as a distinct species is controversial; although some Vietnamese scientists insist that the leloii is a distinct species from the Yangtze Softshell Turtle Rafetus swinhoei, others believe it is synonymous with the latter species. If the two forms are to be considered identical, there are four living specimens left in the world.

Mythology

Depiction of the turtle Kim Qui with the Restored Sword, in the temple of Hoan Kiem

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".

Rediscovery

A preserved turtle on display in the Temple of the Jade Mountain

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 from injuries caused by an abusive fisherman that was ordered to net the turtle and carry it, but instead hit the turtle with a crowbar. The turtle's body was preserved and placed on display in the temple. That particular specimen weighed 200 kg (440 lbs) and measured 1.9 metres long (6 ft 3in). Until that time, no one was sure if the species still lived.

On March 24, 1998 an amateur cameraman caught the creature on video, conclusively proving the elusive creatures still survived in the lake. Prior to its recent rediscovery, the turtles were thought to be only a legend and were classified as cryptozoological.

In 2000, professor Ha Dinh Duc gave the Hoan Kiem turtle the scientific name Rafetus leloii.

Presently, if leloii is considered to be identical to swinhoei, there are four living individuals. Three turtles are in captivity, two of them in Chinese zoos and another in Dong Mo (which appears to be a swinhoei), while the fourth being the controversial specimen in Hoan Kiem lake.

By the Spring of 2011, concerned with the Hoan Kiem specimen'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. 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. An expert commented, "It's hard to catch a large, very large soft-shell turtle." On March 31, in an unusual act, the turtle went to the shore to bask in the sun. 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. The turtle was determined to be female, and genetic research suggested it was distinct from the swinhoei turtles in China, and even the specimen from Dong Mo.

Some witnesses believe there are at least two or three turtles living in Hoan Kiem Lake and that the "smaller" one appears more regularly.

Classification

Turtle Tower (Tháp Rùa) on Hoan Kiem Lake, the natural habitat of the turtle in central Hanoi

R. leloii is now generally believed to be identical to, and therefore a synonym of, R. swinhoei. However, Ha Dinh Duc, who first described leloii, and other Vietnamese scientists such as Le Tran Binh, believe that that the two forms are not identical, pointing out that swinhoeii is slightly smaller than the Hoan Kiem turtle and that the face is not spotted in leloii.

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.

Conservation concerns

Despite eyewitness sightings of two or more turtles, Professor Duc believes that there is only one specimen left in the Hoan Kiem Lake. Peter Pritchard, a renowned turtle biologist, believes that there are no more than five specimens left.

The lake itself is both small and shallow, measuring 200 metres wide, 600 metres 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.

Plans are underway to clean the lake of pollution, and the construction of an artificial beach has been proposed to facilitate breeding. Dredging the lake, to clean up its bottom, was carried out in March 2011.

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." Believing the turtle to be different from swinhoei, he is against the idea of crossbreeding turtles of the two kinds. Some view the idea that the species are distinct as being politically and culturally motivated by anti-Chinese sentiment.