(AP) A local fisherman caught it and almost gave in to thousand-dollar offers to sell it to soup makers, but conservationists persuaded him to return it to the lake.
Vietnam Turtle Narrowly Misses Soup Pot
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NOVEMBER 30, 2009
John Roach, MSNBC

A critically endangered turtle that scientists thought was extinct in the wild was found swimming in a northern Vietnam lake. The Swinhoe's soft-shell turtle is the only known specimen in the wild. Elated researchers with the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, which sponsored the expedition to find the turtle, experienced a bit of pre-Thanksgiving heartburn in 2008 when the reptile got swept away in a flood and fell over a dam. A local fisherman caught it and almost gave in to thousand-dollar offers to sell it to soup makers, but conservationists persuaded him to return it to the lake.
The IUCN lists the turtle as critically endangered. The species' demise is primarily due to hunters who trapped and killed the creatures for food and to make traditional medicines from their bones, according to the Cleveland zoo.
Loss of habitat along major rivers and pollution are also to blame. The Swinhoe's soft-shell turtle is the largest freshwater turtle in the world. They weigh up to 300 pounds, measure up to 3 feet in length and live more than 100 years.
Read about other "extinct" species found alive:
Crow Rediscovered in Indonesia
Turtle with Appetite for Rhinoceros Poop Found
Furby Look-Alike Appears in Indonesia
Photographs Help in Bird Rediscovery
Fungus Skips over Australian Frog Population
Little Bird's Rediscovery a Big Surprise
© 2009 msnbc.com
Reproduced with permission of MSNBC, from 8 ‘extinct’ species found alive and kicking: Amid extinction crisis, some species thought gone for good reappear by John Roach, November 30, 2009; permission conveyed through Copyright Clearance Center, Inc.
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