Yangtze giant softshell turtle search sparks reward campaign as conservationists race to find wild survivors before extinction. The Endangered Species Fund, a Chinese NGO, offers 100,000 yuan to anyone who locates one. Only two known males remain—one in Suzhou Zoo and the other in Vietnam’s Dong Mo Lake. The group believes undiscovered individuals may live in temple ponds or remote wetlands. They promise to pay the reward once experts confirm a turtle’s identity.
Yangtze giant softshell turtle search sparks reward campaign despite concerns from veteran biologists. Professor Lyu Shunqing, who has studied the species since 2007, warned of reckless amateur involvement. He fears untrained searchers could injure turtles using illegal or harmful capture methods. However, he acknowledged the campaign’s potential to raise national awareness about biodiversity loss. “At least it gets people talking about endangered species,” Lyu said.
Lyu recalled a rare success in 2007 when experts identified a female turtle in Hunan province. They relocated her to Suzhou Zoo to breed with the existing male turtle. The pair mated underwater in 2008, but no eggs were fertilised. Several artificial insemination attempts followed but ultimately failed. The female died during a final insemination attempt in 2019.
Yangtze giant softshell turtle search sparks reward campaign as scientists consider their final conservation options. Lyu said cloning or locating a wild female remain the only viable strategies. The male in Suzhou produces weak sperm and cannot reproduce naturally. Still, Lyu believes some turtles may have survived in isolated parts of the Honghe River basin. He said those areas remain biologically capable of supporting the species.
The turtle once thrived from East Asia to the Euphrates River, but habitat loss decimated its numbers. China’s industrial expansion and dam-building wiped out most of its freshwater ecosystems. The last confirmed wild sighting in China occurred in 1998 during a market rescue in Yunnan. Conservationists say local protection will take priority if a turtle appears. They insist time is running out to save this ancient species.
