Turtle mystery in Vietnamese Lake: 17-04-2008
Scientists have confirmed the rare sighting of a species of giant turtle in Vietnam that was once thought to be extinct.
According to reports from the DPA, a photo of the giant turtle was taken by the co-ordinator of the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo's Asian Turtle Programme.
Nguyen Xuan Thuan said he photographed what he believed to be a
Rafetus swinhoei - also known as the Shanghai soft-shelled turtle.
The identification was confirmed by expert Peter Pritchard of the Cleveland Zoo.
"The big soft-shelled turtle has a high value, so a lot of wildlife traders would like to buy it and sell it," said Mr Thuan.
But the identification of the mysterious turtle has been further confused by professor Ha Dinh Duc, a biologist at Hanoi University who claims that the turtle is actually a
Rafetus Leloii.
This turtle is named after Le Loi, a 15th-century emperor who was given a golden sword by a magical tortoise in the lake.