Vietnamese Pond Turtle
Sometimes, non-threatened species can decline rapidly in a short period of time. In the 1970s, there were still so many Vietnamese pond turtles in Vietnam that people even considered them a pest. But in 50 years, about 99% of all Vietnamese pond turtles disappeared from the wild. Today, it is one of the most endangered turtle species in the world. That's why Rotterdam Zoo is helping to protect the Vietnamese pond turtle from extinction.
± 46 years
♀ up to 28,5 centimetres
♂ up to 23 centimetres
♀ up to 2,100 grams
♂ up to 1,750 grams
The Vietnamese pond turtle has a dark brown to gray carapace, with an orange-yellow underside. The bones inside the shell are thicker than in other aquatic turtles. This makes the shells sturdier, presumably to protect the turtles from crocodile bites. It has flippers between its toes. The turtle uses them like "paddles" to propel itself forward in the water.
Vietnamese pond turtles are native to lower elevations in eastern Vietnam. The turtles' habitat consists of swamps, lakes, streams and rivers.
Because Vietnamese pond turtles are so rare, not much is known about how they live in the wild. Most knowledge of their behaviour, diet and reproduction comes from zoos. We do know that wild Vietnamese pond turtles burrow at the feet of bamboo shoots during dry periods to prevent dehydration. Essentially, they go into a kind of 'summer hibernation'. Unfortunately, turtle hunters also knew this. They would jab sharp points into the ground along the bamboo shoots until they heard a sound that resembled a hit on a shell.
The Vietnamese pond turtle frequently occurred in rice fields. This is because rice plants grow in water, where the turtles also find their prey. However, because the turtles trampled the rice plants, farmers saw the turtles as a threat to their harvest. Therefore, they decided to hunt the Vietnamese pond turtles. This hunting contributed to the drastic decline in Vietnamese pond turtles in the wild.
Another significant reason the Vietnamese pond turtle is critically endangered is the trade on Vietnamese markets. Turtle hunters caught the turtles in large numbers and took them to the market, where they fetched high prices. People bought them as pets or even because they believed the shell had medicinal powers. But in recent years, even those turtle hunters have been finding almost no Vietnamese pond turtles. Nearly all of them have been caught and removed from the wild.
The Vietnamese pond turtles have a heated terrarium in the Nature Conservation Center. It contains a shallow pool for swimming and a few rocks for basking. Above those rocks, there are heat lamps. However, most of the Vietnamese pond turtles are kept behind the scenes. Rotterdam Zoo participates in the European population management program to maintain a reserve population.
