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A zoo in southern China is reporting that the only known female member of one of the world’s rarest and most endangered turtle species died Saturday. It was more than 90 years old.
The female Yangtze giant softshell turtle (Rafetus swinhoei) died at the Suzhou Zoo in Suzhou, China a day after an attempt at artificial insemination, part of an effort to help save its species from extinction. The death means only three giant softshell turtles remain in the world.
The city government said in a statement that experts have already used technology to collect the turtle’s ovarian tissue for future research.
People’s Daily, China✔@PDChina
The world’s rarest turtle, Yangtze Giant Softshell Turtle, saw one more death at Suzhou Zoo, E.China’s Jiangsu on Sat. The death of the only known female in China increases the extinction risk of the species, whose population now drops to three (1 in China, 2 in Vietnam).
The Suzhou zoo is home to another Yangtze giant softshell turtle — a male. Two others live in Vietnam, but they are both thought to be males.
According to state-run newspaper People’s Daily, the turtle had been inseminated five times since 2008. Although the last insemination was said to have gone smoothly and the turtle appeared to be in fine health after the procedure, her condition deteriorated the following day.
The last female Yangtze giant softshell turtle is seen here in 2015 during an attempt at artificial insemination. (Photo Credit: VCG/VCG via Getty Images)
In 2015, scientists from the Turtle Survival Alliance (TSA), San Diego Zoo Global, and Wildlife Conservation Society’s (WCS) Bronx Zoo, assisted in an attempt for artificial insemination, in what was then called a “last chance” to breed the rare turtle.
The female turtle was transferred to Suzhou Zoo from Changsha Ecological Zoo in 2008 to be paired with the male, believed to be more than 100 years old, as part of a captive breeding program designed to recover the species. Although the two turtles have displayed courting behavior, eggs laid by the female were infertile.
The male Yangtze giant softshell turtle at Suzhou Zoo is seen here in 2015. It is now believed to be one of only three remaining in the world. (Photo Credit: VCG/VCG via Getty Images)
Listed at the top of the IUCN’s Red List of Threatened Species, as critically endangered, the Yangtze giant softshell turtle is the most critically endangered turtle in the world. Much of its demise has been attributed to over-harvesting and habitat degradation.
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Reblogged this on The Extinction Chronicles.
This was so sad. Only four left in the entire world. But they ‘are saving genetic material for future use’. Why not just protect wildlife while they are still here?
How did it get to be this dire in the first place?????