Vietnam Association for Conservation of Nature and Environment

VietNamNet Bridge - If the normal turtles can only draw the head and feet into their shells, the three species of turtle below can turn themselves into a 100 percent sealed “boxes.”

These species are referred to by a name "box turtle." The first representative is black back box turtle "Cuora amboinensis."

They can turn themselves into a watertight box by drawing the head, legs and "put on the lid." When they become”boxes,” they are untouchable because no matter how skillful enemies can harm their body.

Black back box turtles mainly live in the swamps of South Vietnam. The number of black back box turtles is decreasing due to hunting.

Yellow forehead box turtles (Cuora galbinifrons) live in moist forest areas throughout Vietnam.

Like black back box turtles, yellow forehead box turtles are also capable of "canning" themselves thanks to two special lids.

This is a beautiful species which is bred in many zoos around the world. They are also subject to hunters of pets.

Because of being intensely hunted, the number of yellow forehead box turtle in Vietnam is very limited. They have been included in the list of endangered species.

The last representative of the Vietnamese box turtle is three bars box turtle (Cuora trifasciata), which live in some midland and mountainous regions of northern Vietnam.

This is a species known for the rumors that they are raw materials for processing cancer drugs. In the past few decades, this species have been hunted by Chinese traders.

Becoming increasingly scarce, the price has been pushed up, currently at about VND300 million ($15,000) per kilo for turtles caught in the forest. The price for turtles from farms is "cheaper," only about VND60 million ($3,000) per kilo.
According to experts, three bar box turtles are almost extinct in the wild.

Kien Thuc

(VietNamNet)