Focal species:

Yangtze Giant Softshell Turtle (Rafetus swinhoei)

Chelonian Threats:

Only 4 specimens of Yangtze Giant Softshell Turtle are known to exist: a male and female captive pair at the Suzhou Zoo in China, and two specimens of unknown sex residing in separate lakes in northern Vietnam. Time and the ability to successfully reproduce these animals are the greatest pressure on the species’ survival.

Action:

Visual surveys, sighting interviews, eDNA sampling technology, educational awareness

Partners and Collaborators:

Vietnam’s Biodiversity Conservation Agency (BCA) of the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment (MoNRE), the Fisheries Department and Forest Protection Department (FPD), and Asian Turtle Program of Indo-Myanmar Conservation back the field surveys. Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, Turtle Conservation Fund, Washington State University, International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund, British Chelonia Group, and private donors support the eDNA analysis. New York's Wildlife Conservation Society, the Leibniz Institute for Zoo & Wildlife Research in Berlin, San Diego Zoo Global.