 Last hope … the female giant soft-shell turtle The agenda is simple: the turtle must not die. Unnoticed and unappreciated for decades, a large female turtle with a stained, leathery shell is now a precious commodity in the decaying Changsha Zoo in China. Earlier this year, scientists concluded that she is the world's last known female giant Yangtze soft-shell turtle. She is about 80 years old and weighs almost 100lbs. The world's one undisputed, known male lives 500 miles away at a zoo in the city of Suzhou. He is 100 years old and weighs about 200lbs. They are the last hope of saving a species believed to be the largest freshwater turtles in the world. "It's a very dire situation," said Peter Pritchard, a prominent turtle expert in the US who has been involved in efforts to save the species. For many Chinese, turtles symbolise health and longevity, but the saga of the last two giant Yangtze soft-shells is more symbolic of the threatened state of wildlife and biodiversity in China. Pollution, hunting and rampant development are destroying natural habitats.
Nearly 40% of all mammal species in China are endangered, scientists say. For plants, the situation is worse; 70% of all non-flowering plant species and 86% of flowering species are considered threatened. For centuries, Chinese leaders emphasised dominance over nature rather than coexistence with it. Animals and plants are still often regarded as commodities valued for use as medicine or food, rather than as essential pieces of a natural order. "The whole idea of ecology and eco-systems is a new thing in the culture," said Lu Zhi, a professor of conservation biology at Peking University. Fifty-one years ago, a travelling circus performed at the new zoo in Changsha, the capital of Hunan province in southern China. For a cash payment, the circus left behind a large female turtle. Zoo keepers slipped the turtle into a large pond, where for a half-century it hibernated in winters and poked its pig-like snout above the water's surface every spring. The concrete walls of the zoo became the equivalent of a time capsule. Outside, the convulsions of modern Chinese history were scarring an already damaged landscape. Under Mao, national campaigns were waged to kill birds and other animals perceived as pests. Widespread famines in the late Fifties and early Sixties drove people to hunt or gather anything deemed edible, even tree bark. Since the Eighties, the pressure has come from the rapid push for economic development. Many remote regions with undisturbed natural habitats are rapidly opening up as new highways and other roads are penetrating almost every corner of the country. Pollution, meanwhile, has severely contaminated lakes and river systems. In recent years, turtle experts identified the giant Yangtze soft-shell, also known as the Rafetus swinhoei, as dangerously close to extinction. Zoo keepers at Changsha Zoo had no idea that experts were scouring China for the species. In fact, they knew very little about their female turtle. "We just treated it like a normal animal," said Yan Xiahui, deputy director of the zoo. "We didn't expect it would be so important." The species was first identified as distinct in the 1870s. A British diplomat in Shanghai sent a specimen to the British Museum, where it was beheaded and pickled in a large jar. Some experts debated whether it should be considered part of another species of giant soft-shell turtles, and for years it received little attention. "It proceeded to be ignored by the world as if it didn't exist for roughly 100 years," said Pritchard, who has seen the specimen in the British Museum. "Finally, people began looking at the one in the British Museum and realised this had value. It was a real species." By the Nineties, Chinese herpetologist Zhao Kentang had realised the significance of the turtle and tried in vain to convince zoos to bring the turtles together for breeding. By 2004, after conducting field surveys in China and Vietnam, herpetologists concluded that six of the turtles were still alive. Three were in Chinese zoos in Beijing, Shanghai and Suzhou; two others lived in a Buddhist temple in Suzhou; and a sixth lived in a Vietnamese lake in the centre of Hanoi. Negotiations began regarding a breeding agreement, but by 2005, the turtle in the Beijing zoo had died. Questions also emerged about whether the Hanoi turtle was actually the same species. Monks at the Buddhist temple considered their turtles religious icons and did not want to move them. Finally, a deal was reached last year between the Suzhou and Shanghai zoos. "Then in October, the one in Shanghai died," said Xie Yan, the Chinese programme director for the Wildlife Conservation Society. "It was horrible news. We thought there was no hope." In January, herpetologists gathered in Suzhou for a conference about the turtle. Every zoo in China had been issued an urgent circular asking for any information about their turtles. Officials at the Changsha Zoo responded. E-mail messages and photographs were exchanged. The Wildlife Conservation Society sent two experts to Changsha. "We were very happy because it was a female and she had just laid eggs last year," said Lu Shunqing, one of the experts. The discovery of the Changsha turtle was critical. In August, one of the turtles in the Buddhist temple died. Experts visited the temple and found no proof that the second turtle existed. That left two undisputed giant Yangtze soft-shells: the female in Changsha; the male in Suzhou. Neither had mixed with the opposite sex in decades, if ever. In September, the two zoos agreed that scientists could attempt artificial insemination next spring. They also signed a contract entitling them to a certain number of offspring for each zoo - potential stud turtles for future breeding efforts. Gerald Kuchling, a herpetologist overseeing the procedure, said success was far from guaranteed. In May, he conducted an ultrasound examination of the ovaries of the female turtle in Changsha. For years, she has laid unfertilised eggs in the spring, though zoo keepers say the number has steadily diminished. The Changsha turtle will be taken to Suzhou next year where scientists will first try artificial insemination. If that fails, the two elderly turtles will be left to their own devices to see if nature takes its course. The fate of a species hangs in the balance. Global Crisis
SCIENTISTS last month warned of a "global extinction crisis" threatening to wipe out thousands of animals and plants. Nearly 200 species were added to the World Conservation Union (IUCN) annual Red List of those threatened with extinction. There are now more than 40,000 species on the list, and scientists warn the situation is getting worse. Some 785 species are rated as extinct, and a further 65 only found in captivity or cultivation. One in four mammals, one in eight birds, one third of amphibians and 70% of the plants on the list are in jeopardy. This year the Western Gorilla has been moved onto the critical list. The animal, which is one of man's closest genetic relations in the animal kingdom, lives in jungles in central Africa. Different species face different threats, the experts say, but a common theme is destructive human activity. Source: Scotland on sunday
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