The Last of Her Kind: Yangtze Giant Soft-Shell Turtle Dies, Leaving Only Two Known Survivors

The Yangtze giant soft-shell turtle is on the brink of extinction.

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Having been washed ashore, the last known female of the species was discovered ashore, dead in Vietnam at Dong Mo Lake.

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The turtle measured 156 cm and had a weight of 93 kg.

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In order to verify its identity, a genetic test would be conducted by the local officials, but it was almost certainly the last known female.

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The Asian Turtle Program for Indo-Myanmar Conservation has shared the potential of the turtle to lay 100 eggs or more a year.

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Owing to its extreme value, the species has been under extreme pressure from exploitation for consumption and targeted capture attempts in recent years.

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The species have been affected by habitat loss through conversion, drainage, fragmentation, pollution of wetlands and riparian habitats, hydroelectric barrages, and sand mining.

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The discovery of the female turtle in January 2021 has raised hopes that the species could be saved from extinction.

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The rising levels of pollution as well as decades of hunting for its meat and eggs have driven the reptile to the brink of disappearance.

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After Sunday’s discovery, only two known reptiles remain: one in Suzhou Zoo in China and another in Hanoi’s Xuan Khanna Lake.

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