A female Yangtze giant softshell turtle, one of four remaining in the world, is seen at Suzhou Zoo in China in 2015. She died on 13 April 2019, following an attempt to artificially inseminate her. Photo: Gerald Kuchling
A female Yangtze giant softshell turtle, one of four remaining in the world, is seen at Suzhou Zoo in China in 2015. She died on 13 April 2019, following an attempt to artificially inseminate her. Photo: Gerald Kuchling

By Shreya Dasgupta
16 April 2019

(Mongabay) – Until recently, there were just four known Yangtze giant softshell turtles in the world. On 13 April 2019, the only known female among them died in China’s Suzhou Shangfangshan Forest Zoo following an attempt to artificially inseminate her, according to local media. She was more than 90 years old.

Three known Yangtze giant softshell turtles (Rafetus swinhoei) are now left behind: a geriatric male living in Suzhou Zoo, a wild individual in Vietnam’s Dong Mo Lake, and another wild turtle discovered recently in Vietnam’s Xuan Khanh Lake.

To protect the incredibly rare turtle species, Chinese zoos along with experts from international conservation groups, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the Turtle Survival Alliance (TSA), made a “desperate move” by relocating the female Yangtze giant softshell turtle more than 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) from Changsha Zoo to Suzhou Zoo in 2008. The experts hoped that she would mate and produce offspring with the 100-year old male turtle that also lived in captivity at Suzhou. Over the next few years, the two turtles did produce several clutches of eggs, but none were viable.

Since 2015, experts have been attempting to artificially inseminate the female softshell turtle. Again, while the female did lay eggs, none hatched.

On April 13, after the fifth attempt at artificial insemination, the female died during recovery from anesthesia. The male recovered from the procedure.

“The male and female turtles, which have failed to produce offspring naturally since they were brought together in 2008, were determined to be healthy for the procedure, and similar anesthesia procedures had previously been performed without incident,” WCS said in a statement. “Sadly, this time the female turtle did not recover normally as she had in the past and she died despite 24 hours of nonstop emergency care. A necropsy will be performed and ovarian tissue has been frozen for potential future work.” [more]

Last known female Yangtze giant softshell turtle dies in China