Expert Rejects Claim to Iconic Turtle in Ha Noi's Hoan Kiem Lake (Via HerpDigest)

Expert Rejects Claim to Iconic Turtle in Ha Noi's Hoan Kiem Lake (Rafetus ssp)
Hanoi - VNS-9/10/10

An expert is discounting rumours that the giant turtle living in Ha Noi's Hoan Kiem Lake was wounded recently by a fisherman.

The rumour became widespread after an internet website began running a video clip in which a young man appeared to be casting a fishing line towards the giant turtle when it surfaced on the lake on March 12.

Though the video clip did not make it clear that the hooks had hit the turtle, the fishing line became taut and broken. The young man could then be seen rewinding the remainder of the line with his fishing rod.

News about the giant turtle being attacked has recently hit the headlines in the local print media, with a least one paper putting an image on its front page of the turtle laying inside the Tortoise Tower, with a caption suggesting the wounded turtle had taken shelter there out of the sun. The photo was allegedly taken on August 1.

Turtle expert Ha Dinh Duc affirmed that illegal fishing had been a danger to the giant turtle for years as the turtle's shell was already deeply scarred. But he was doubtful of any new wound such as the newspapers were reporting.

A fishing hook did not represent a significant danger to the giant turtle, he said, although it might have torn a piece of its soft shell.

Instead, Duc said he was concerned about the existing wounds, including a fairly deep hole which could be the trace of a strong beating.

The head of the Hoan Kiem Lake management board, Nguyen Minh Tuan, affirmed that the giant turtle had not been seen on the Tortoise Tower island since 2007, although it has resurfaced on the lake many times.

The Asian Tortoise Preservation Programme has called the Hoan Kien turtle (Rafetus swinhoei) one of the rarest species of tortoise in the world. On-line newspapers Dan Tri and VNMedia have reported that there were only four known in the world, including two in Viet Nam: one in Hoan Kiem Lake and the other in Dong Mo Lake, plus two others in a Chinese zoo.

Dr Le Duc Minh of the Natural Resources and Environment Research Centre at the Ha Noi National University has also confirmed that the Hoan Kiem and Dong Mo turtles were of the Rafetus swinhoei species.

Duc, who has been tracking the Hoan Kiem turtle for over a decade, disagreed.
"In November 2008, Hoan Kiem tortoise was caught and I found that it was not a member of the Rafetus swinhoei species," said Duc. "I named it Rafetus leloii."

The Hoan Kiem lake turtle was itself not born in the lake but introduced into it, probably from Thanh Hoa, he said, adding that the Dong Mo turtle had many yellow spots and a different head than the Hoan Kiem turtle and that it would be impossible to breed them.

Legend has it that a king turned a magical sword called Heaven's Will over to the golden turtle god in the lake. Based on this legend, Hoan Kiem Lake means "Lake of the Returned Sword" or "Lake of the Restored Sword". It also explains the name of the tower built on a tiny island in the lake.