As many as 71 individuals of Annam leaf turtle (Mauremys annamensis),
an endemic tortoise species of Vietnam , have been sent from zoos in
the Netherlands and Germany back to their native land.
The Ninh Binh-based Cuc Phuong National Park ’s Turtle
Conservation Centre received the turtle individuals on August 19.
According to the centre’s Director Bui Dang Phong, this is the first
time a large number of Vietnamese turtles successfully bred abroad have
returned to the country.
It marks considerable
progress made by Vietnam in preserving this species in the context
that individuals in nature are rapidly decreasing due to illegal hunting
and trading and degrading habitats, he added.
He also affirmed Vietnam ’s responsibility of actively protecting the endemic turtle species from these acts.
Henk Zwartepoorte, an official in charge of reptiles and
amphibians at the Rotterdam Zoo, voiced his belief in Vietnam ’s
global initiatives and efforts to help its endemic turtles live and
develop in nature.
Coordinator at the Asian Turtle
Programme (ATP) Timthy Mc Cormack said the Annam leaf turtles, which
are only found in the wild in Vietnam ’s central provinces , are
recognised globally as the species in priority need of conservation.
The 71 returned individuals are expected to live with more than 200
others rescued in the Turtle Conservation Centre with the final aim to
release all of them into the wild in Quang Ngai province.
Mauremys annamensis is a valuable and rare species only found in
inundated areas, ponds and rivers in the central region. Since the late
1980s, the population of Annam leaf turtles in the wild has nearly
disappeared due to poaching for trade.