ANNAMITE POND TURTLE

The Vietnamese or Annamite pond turtle was locally abundant until the 1980s, even so far as to be considered a pest, as large adults would trample rice crops and wander into village houses. The 1996 Red List assessment of the species listed it as Least Concern, although a lack of information from the 1980s and 1990s probably contributed to this. Immediately after this assessment, however, international trade in the species spiked. By 2000, it had become exceedingly rare and was assessed as Critically Endangered.

Historically, the species was found in the lowlands east of the Annamites in central Viet Nam, from the Hai Van Pass in the north to the Ca Pass in the south. This pond turtle lived in marshes, wetlands, slow-moving streams, small lakes, ponds and the edges of large rivers, as well as in rice fields around villages. Now, it is thought to possibly occupy (at best) one or two small wetland habitats over a collective area of only 10 km2, with fewer than 50 individuals left in the wild. In fact, it has been reliably recorded only once in the wild in recent decades, when an individual was trapped by researchers in 2006, making it the first scientific observation in the wild in 65 years – all turtles in the intervening period were seen in trade or in human captivity.

Collection of turtles for trade first took off in the mid-1980s, at which time the Annamite pond turtle and other turtle species were being collected by the sacksful every night. By the late 1990s, only a few individuals were being seized from wildlife traders, reflecting its steep declines in the wild. Although some turtles appeared in local trade in the 2010s, they became increasingly rare. This rarity meant that capturing the few individuals left became increasingly profitable, and this led to eggs and hatchlings being collected in the hope of raising or breeding them for the trade.

The survival of Mauremys annamensis is most threatened by the unsustainable hunting and trade. Historically, they were collected locally as food, and since the 1980s were traded to China for consumption as food or traditional medicine, and to other countries in Asia, Europe and North America as “pets”. In central Viet Nam, the blood from this pond turtle is believed to be a cure for heart disease when mixed with strong rice liquor, with the rest of the animal being consumed in tonics or soups. In the last decade, farmed turtles have become increasingly available in markets. Unfortunately, turtle farming has stimulated the overall demand and increased hunting pressure on wild turtles to supply as breeding stock for the farms, while also allowing laundering of illegally traded wild specimens as farmed animals. Some consumers believe that wild animals are healthier or more potent than farmed ones, keeping the pressure on any remaining wild turtles.

Conservationists are breeding Annamite pond turtles in captivity to try and reintroduce viable populations back into the wild in their native range. Led by the Asian Turtle Programme, captive-bred turtles from Hong Kong, Europe and North America were repatriated to Viet Nam to strengthen the genetic lineage and numbers of the local captive population in the Cuc Phuong Turtle Conservation Centre, which has now grown to over 200 individuals. Since the current set of protected areas do not contain any wild turtles or suitable habitat, the Asian Turtle Programme has worked with the Forest Protection Department of Quang Ngai province to establish a species habitat conservation area for their reintroduction. More recently, another suitable site was identified in Phu Yen province.