VietNamNet Bridge – Hundreds of people recently began hunting rare turtles in the forests and streams in the hills of Hoa Vang District of central city of Da Nang. The search started after a rumour was spread that the turtles could be sold at sky-high prices.

On January 22, 2015, when locals returned from the forest, they discovered a large turtle crawling on the ground in the Ho Cau area. They then caught more turtles to slaughter them for meat. A man showed up and asked to buy the turtles at a very high price.

Only one day later, hundreds of people began to hunt for turtles and since then prices have been rising, from VND3 million per kilo to VND30 million.

A local man said a large amount of turtles have been caught in recent days, about 50 kilos, with a total value of VND200 million.

Nguyen Thi Loi caught a turtle weighing 2.7 kilos, while Le Tan Hoach earned VND40 million from the sale of small turtles.

The turtles have been found mostly in areas surrounded by rivulets, bushes, high hills and mountains.

An officer of the Hoa Vang District Forest Rangers’ Unit noted that turtles had appeared in the past in these areas, but this was the first time locals had discovered so many turtles.

The turtles are a kind of rare turtle living in the Ba Na – Nui Chua area,  named Vietnamese pond turtles, or Mauremys annamensis. This is a species of turtles in the family Geoemydidae, seen in the central region in Vietnam.

In 2006, a wild population of the turtles was found near Hoi An ancient town in Quang Nam Province

The free encyclopedia says it can be distinguished from its relatives by its color pattern: the head is dark with three or four yellow stripes down the side. The plastron (belly shield) is firmly attached, yellow or orange, with a black blotch on each scute.

He noted that in the past people did not care about the turtles because a kilo sold for only VND200,000.

However, as the price has soared dramatically to VND2 million and then to tens of millions of dong, people have rushed to hunt them despite the local authorities’ warnings that the turtles are in danger of becoming extinct.

An official of the local authorities said turtles had appeared because their habitat had become polluted. Ho Cau, where the turtles live, is a swamp area that receives waste water from a nearby pig farm.

“The area is no longer an ideal place for the turtles to live,” he noted. “They have tried to leave for new accommodations.”

Cong Ly