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| Serious injuries of the turtle |
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Dr. Ha Dinh Duc, who has been doing research on the ancient turtle for over 20 years, said that during recent surfacings the turtle showed new signs of injury. He added that, the turtle was spotted 14 times in January.
“The turtle’s health is likely to get worse if something isn’t done soon,” he said, adding that the turtle should be brought to the foot of Tortoise Tower in the Hoan Kiem Lake for treatment.
Dr. Phan Tho Van of the Research Institute for Aquaculture, was cited by Tuoi Tre Newspaper as saying that experts and the public have been worried about the turtle’s health.
“Most of his injuries are due to wounds [from fishing hooks],” Van noted, adding that the poor water quality has also contributed to his wounds.
Meanwhile, Dr. Bui Quang Te from Research Institute for Aquaculture suggested that the turtle should be taken to an environment with clean water. He also suspects that the turtle may suffer from pneumonia due to a bacterial infection; which could be the reason it is coming to the surface more often.
International experts: The turtle should not be brought ashore
At the seminar, foreign experts agreed with the proposals for the timely treatment of Cụ Rùa, but worried that bringing the turtle ashore may do more harm than good.
Timothy McCormack, representative of Asia Turtle Conservation Network, said that the turtle could die if something goes wrong with the process.
According to Veterinarian Nimal Fernando from Ocean Park (Hong Kong), moving the turtle out of the lake would be risky. Moreover, removing him from his natural environment could cause stress and other problems.
These experts suggested that it is better for Cụ Rùa to be treated in Hoan Kiem Lake. Nimal Fernando said a small area in the lake should be sectioned off for the turtle during the treatment, while also cleaning up his environment.
McCormack proposed pumping more water to the lake to dilute the pollution.
The turtle in question is believed to be hundreds years old and belongs to an extremely rare species. There are only four of it’s kind known to be still living, two of them being kept in a zoo in China.
This type of turtle is very important in Vietnamese culture. It is reclusive and rare and considered holy because of a 15th-century legend that claims King Le Loi drove out invading Chinese with a magical sword, which the gods gave him. He later returned it to the lake by giving it to the lake's turtle, which swam it back to the gods. It’s from this story that the name of the lake, Hoan Kiem, is derived.
Pham Thanh
(MONRE, 17/2/2011)