On-going effort to find more wild Rafetus in northern Vietnam

This June, our Rafetus team conducted a two-week field observation at another large lake in northern Vietnam to find remaining wild Rafetus after the discovery of the second wild individual in Xuan Khanh Lake in April 2018. During this survey, we also used a sonar FishFinder to learn more about the composition of the lake and look for the turtle under water. We also made use of ANDe kit which was developed by Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) to speed up the filtration process at the site.

High mortality seen in tortoises and freshwater turtles in Vietnam

On the 24^th May 2015, a small group of three endangered Big-headed turtles (Platysternon megacephalum), five critically endangered Indochinese Box Turtles (Cuora galbinifrons), and one endangered Four-eyed Turtle (Sacalia quadriocellata) were transferred to the Turtle Conservation Centre (TCC) of Cuc Phuong National Park, Vietnam.

Sadly, 13 other animals that had been part of the full shipment of 22 confiscated from a trader in Tien Yen district, Quang Ninh province in northern Vietnam on the 21^st of May 2018 did not survive long enough to be rescued.

Implementation of smartphone-based environmental DNA testing and capture technologies to detect Rafetus swinhoei in the wild

A training workshop introducing eDNA (environmental DNA) and smartphone-based testing for the Swinhoe’s Giant Sotfshell Turtle (Rafetus swinhoei), also known as Hoan Kiem turtle, took place at Dong Mo and Xuan Khanh lakes from the 26^th of April to the 9^th of May 2018. This project is a pilot initiative for increasing the ability to find Rafetus swinhoei, and is a joint collaboration by the Asian Turtle Program - Indo Myanmar Conservation (ATP), the Central Institute for Natural Resources and Environmental Studies (CRES) and the Wildlife Conservation Society - Viet Nam program (WCS Viet Nam). 

Thank you !!!

For making it to the end of this newsletter and for supporting us on every single project, rescue or release. We would also like to thank all of our government and non-government partners that we work with on different projects.

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