On October 1, Mr. Le Hoai Vu - Head of the Forest Protection Department of Region XIV informed that the Department had just coordinated with the People's Committee of Ba To Commune (Quang Ngai Province) to release a large-headed turtle (scientific name is platysternon megacephalum) back into the natural environment in the Ton Dung Lake protection forest area (Ba To Commune).
Previously, this large-headed turtle went lost to Mr. Mai Xuan Dung's house (residing in Ba To commune). Through research, Mr. Dung learned that this was a large-headed turtle, a rare animal, at risk of extinction, on the strict protection list of Vietnam and the world, so he reported it to the local authorities and coordinated to hand it over to the Forest Protection Department of Region XIV.
After receiving the results, the Forest Protection Department staff conducted a health check and released it to the natural growth environment. The large-headed turtle has quickly adapted, moved agilely, and found shelter, suitable for the biological characteristics of the turtle.
The large-headed turtle has a tail nearly the same length as the body, the head is covered with very hard pieces of horn that cannot penetrate the apricot, the upper jaw forms a hook like a slash-and- note. This is the identifying feature of the large turtle (Platysternon megacephalum).
This species lives in streams in forests, where water is in and flows slowly with an altitude of over 600 m above sea level in natural forests from the North to the end of the Central and Central Highlands.
The giant turtle is listed in the World Red Book as an extremely endangered group due to over- exploitation and trading. If not prevented, this species will disappear in the near future. In Vietnam, large turtles in group IB are on the list of strictly protected priorities, and diseases related to large turtles will be severely punished.
