Last Known Female Yangtze Giant Softshell Turtle Dies; Freshwater Species Now at the Brink of Extinction With Only Two Living Males Left

With the recent death of the last known female Yangtze giant softshell turtle, this species is now at the brink of extinction with just two living males left.

Last Known Female Freshwater Turtle Dies

According to Live Science, this last known female freshwater turtle was found dead along the coasts of Dong Mo Lake in the Son Tay district of Hanoi. The female turtle was roughly 93 kilograms and 5-foot-long.

VNExpress, a Vietnamese news site, reports that the creature could have died several days before. However, the reason behind this death still remains a mystery.

This last known female was found just last October 2020. Back then, there were no female Yangtze giant softshell turtles that were known to exist, as the last known female during this time had died after a failed artificial insemination attempt. This took place in Suzhou Zoo in April 2019 in China.

When this recent female turtle was found last April, specialists hoped that it was part of a different and unknown turtle population and that the female Yangtze giant softshell turtle was still alive. Unfortunately, this was not the case.

Yangtze Giant Softshell Turtles on the Brink of Extinction

With the recent death of the last known female, the Yangtze giant softshell turtles, or Rafetus swinhoei, are now extremely endangered species on the brink of extinction. There are only two known males that are alive. One of them is in Dong Mo Lake, while the other is in Suzhou Zoo.

The female turtle's size revealed that it would have been several decades old, which also signified sexual maturity. With this, researchers were hopeful that the male and female in Dong Mo Lake would end up mating and breeding.

Tim McCormack, director of the Asian Turtle Program for Indo-Myanmar Conservation, explained to TIME magazine that the huge female had an obviously great capacity for reproduction and that the creature could have laid at least a hundred eggs each year.

Despite the hopes and efforts of the specialists, the two turtles never mated with each other. The researchers even constructed an artificial nesting beach by the lake for eggs to be laid if the female ever needed it.

These creatures used to fill the Yangtze River in China and other freshwater areas, such as Dong Mo Lake. However, the species was a historical hunting focus and ended up losing the majority of its natural habitat, as reported by the Asian Turtle Program.

Considering how this last known female turtle was just found last October 2020 after the death of the last known female back then, one may think that there is still a chance for other females and males to be detected in the coming years. However, if this is not the case, the Yangtze giant softshell turtle will be another addition to the list of species that humans wiped out.

Check out more news and information on Animals in Science Times.