Distribution
The Yangtze giant softshell turtle has been known to inhabit the Yangtze River and Lake Taihu, situated on the border of Jiangsu and Zhejiang Provinces, in eastern China, and Gejiu, Yuanyang, Jianshui and Honghe in Yunnan Province in southern China.
The last known specimen caught in the wild in China was in 1998 in the Red River between Yuanyang and Jianshui; it was then released. Only four specimens are known to live in Vietnam and China, one each at Hoan Kiem Lake (taxonomy questioned) and Dong Mo Lake Son Tay in Hanoi, Vietnam, and two in Suzhou zoo in China.
A specimen at the Beijing Zoo died in 2005, and another one at the Shanghai Zoo died in 2006; both of them were caught at Gejiu in the 1970s.
In 1999, 2000, and 2005, turtles have re-emerged from Hoan Kiem Lake on special occasions, when it was seen by a large audience and caught on film. Only a single turtle is believed to be left in the lake. In April 2011, it was captured because it had open sores that needed to be treated.
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