Giant Yangtze Soft-Shell Turtle - One Left in the Wild?

An early morning expedition on Vietnam’s Dong Mo reservoir turns up a sighting of what may be the only giant Yangtze soft-shell turtle (Rafetus swinhoei) still extant in the wild.  The only other members of the species are two turtles housed in China’s Suzhou Zoo.  An aged female and her impotent male companion at the zoo and the Dong Mo males are the last know members of the species.

"Twenty-odd years of searching have produced no others," said naturalist Peter Pritchard, a leading turtle expert whose latest book was titled "Rafetus: The Curve of Extinction." He professes optimism, however, that the Dong Mo turtle and the Chinese female have a chance to rebuild the population, much as a Galapagos species was brought back from the brink.

Artificial insemination of the Suzhou Zoo female has been attempted without success on multiple occasions.  There is still hope that this process will succeed or that other members of the elusive species survive in the wild.  Even though they can live for over 100 years, the days of the Refetus swinhoei appear to be numbered.

You can help at the Turtle Survival  Alliance.