Discovering rare big-headed turtles in Bac Tra My forest

On April 10, Mr. Chau Minh Ninh, Director of the Protection Forest Management Board of Bac Tra My district, Quang Nam province, said that while patrolling the forest in Tra Giang commune, members of the Giang-Son forest protection checkpoint under the Forest Protection and Fire Prevention and Control Management Station No. 4 discovered an individual turtle caught in forest vines.

In Vietnam, the big-headed turtle belongs to group IB on the strictly protected list and is listed as an endangered and rare wildlife species in need of protection. Violations related to big-headed turtles will be severely punished.

After discovering the individual turtle, staff of the Forest Management Board freed the turtle, checked its health status, and released it back into the natural environment.

This individual turtle weighs approximately 1kg and has a length of about 20cm. The tail is almost as long as the body; the head is covered with hard horn pieces that cannot retract into the shell; and the upper jaw forms a hook like a parrot's beak. These are the identifying characteristics of the big-headed turtle (Scientific name: Platysternon megacephalum).

This species lives in ravines in the forest, where the water is clear and flows slowly at an altitude of over 600m in natural forests from the North to the end of the Central and Central Highlands.

In the daytime, they hide under rocks or bask in the sun on stream banks; only at night do they go looking for food.

When mature, big-headed turtles can reach a shell size of more than 20cm. This turtle species is listed as critically endangered in the World's Red Book due to overexploitation and excessive trade. If not stopped, this species will disappear in the near future.