On the evening of April 24, a message about the turtle spread on Weibo and WeChat groups to the effect that the body of a female turtle found in 2020 in Dong Mo Lake in Vietnam was found, and the news of the death of this female individual has hit the conservation of the species hard.
This news feels that the impact is not as strong as the news of the death of female turtles raised in Suzhou Zoo in a few years, as if the event of the death of Suzhou turtles is at the bottom, and people have been "desensitized" to the tragedy of the extinction of this species.
The reality of the turtle is not optimistic, but it is only a typical microcosm of the current situation of turtles and turtles and reptiles in China, but it is a relatively high recognition of the whole society (overall, the popularity of the turtle is still very low) species, more turtle and turtle species, only researchers and nature lovers are familiar, their wild status has not "out of the circle" to attract public attention.
Turtle turtle in Hoan Kiem Lake, Vietnam, photographed in 2013, this individual died ©in 2016 Grover J. Brown/inaturalist
North China and the area south of the Qinling Mountains covers an area of about 2.4 million square kilometers, located south of the eastern monsoon region, with a humid climate, and the eastern river basin, large and small rivers, lakes and water networks are intertwined. On the mainland, in addition to the four-clawed tortoise distributed in the Huocheng area of Xinjiang and the Chinese turtle also distributed in the northeastern region, other tortoises and water turtles on land mainly live in this vast southern area.
However, these areas are suitable for human agricultural production and economic activities, and many places have historically been both rich fish and rice towns and important industrial and commercial towns, and the frequent interaction between humans and animals has also brought a crisis to the turtle and turtle population.
Market demand affects wild populations
In the eighties of the mainland, primary large-scale turtle farms began to appear, when grass turtles, flower turtles, yellow-throated turtles, Chinese turtles and other common aquatic species were mainly raised, and wild capture and acquisition also existed.
In the nineties, with the deepening of the market economy and the demand of the food and pharmaceutical industries, the scale of turtle and turtle breeding was further expanded, at this time, the scale of turtle and turtle breeding was not only more large-scale, but also some foreign species began to enter domestic farms, such as red-eared turtles, small snapping turtles, large snapping turtles, etc. With the improvement of breeding level, turtle and turtle breeding and market demand began to gradually enter the stage of stable supply and demand.
Chinese Turtle © Song Dazhao
After entering 2000, the demand for turtles and turtles in the domestic market has seen new growth, with the popularity of the Internet, and the influence of forum websites, the original popular pet culture in mainland Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan and other places, began to spread in the mainland of the mainland, including turtle and turtle lovers, the two climbing enthusiasts, began to communicate through the Internet.
At the same time, the people's demand for turtles and turtles has also changed, and they have begun to pursue species with bright colors, peculiar appearances and rare species. At this time, the folk breeding of turtles and turtles gradually turned to a variety of domestic closed-shell turtles, such as yellow-edged closed-shell turtles, golden-headed closed-shell turtles, three-lined closed-shell turtles, and Burmese tortoises, concave tortoises and other tortoise species.
Yellow-edged closed-shell turtle © Natural small green dragon
During this period, the domestic economy grew rapidly, the enthusiasm and demand of the people for exotic pet breeding was high, and various water turtles, semi-water turtles and tortoises collected from Southeast Asia also entered the mainland market through various channels, becoming the main source of folk pet collection and breeding.
Chen Laoshui photographed the concave tortoise in Laos, and locals say that most of these turtles were caught by Chinese © Chen Laoshui
From a certain point of view, the import of Southeast Asian turtles and turtles and other reptiles to domestic economically developed areas not only reflects the regional economic development status, but also shows that the domestic wild turtles and turtles have declined.
The main reason for the decline of wild populations
In fact, turtles and turtles, amphibians, fish and other aquatic animals have experienced a serious decline in wild populations, which is very closely related to human activities during the same period.
In the 80s, chemical fertilizers began to be widely used in the mainland, and the yield of crops could not be separated from chemical fertilizers, but the lack of scientific guidance and standardized use caused a serious impact on the environment.
Fertilizer wastewater from many rice fields in the southern region flows directly into adjacent natural waters, causing aquatic life in the waters to be greatly affected. During the same period, untreated industrial wastewater was also discharged directly into natural waters, which is the main reason for the decline in freshwater aquatic animal species and populations in many parts of the mainland. Species such as grass turtles and flower turtles, which prefer shallow water habitats, experienced population loss during this period.
Grass turtle ©shihhaowang / inaturalist
A few years ago, when I was bird watching in a farmland in Jiangsu, I met a local farmer in his fifties. I asked her if she had seen turtles before, and she said she could see it in the pond and rice paddy on the edge of the village when she was a teenager, and probably not seen it since the '90s.
Water turtles are susceptible to water pollution due to their aquatic environment, but closed-shell turtles are not optimistic. Closed-shell turtles have a common feature: the distribution area is relatively narrow and the dependence on the habitat environment is high. This distribution type is highly susceptible to habitat damage. It is also worth mentioning that many years ago, the demand for closed-shell turtle breeding and collection also prompted targeted collection and capture, and the decline in wild density directly affected their reproduction, further reducing the population.
WeChat illegal trafficking of saw-edge closed-shell turtles Source network
Some turtle species with unique appearance and bright colors, such as ground turtles, yellow-fronted closed-shell turtles, concave tortoises, etc., became the object of many turtle enthusiasts during this period. Not only because of their "appearance", but also because of their high difficulty in breeding, they have become the target species that enthusiasts with breeding experience want to "overcome" during this period.
In recent years, these turtles have rarely appeared in the market, in addition to the strengthening of the crackdown by forestry units, there are also reasons why wild populations have been difficult to find.
Tortoises such as Burmese tortoises and concave tortoises are the most direct victims of the pet trade, with relatively slow mobility, larger individuals, and more obvious and easier to capture and collect.
The habitat of large turtles, especially turtles, is the middle and lower reaches of large rivers, preferring open waters, and gentle open shores are their preferred breeding grounds. But these areas are the main areas of human activity, and they are also the most obvious sites for hydropower construction (e.g., the water level rises after the dam is built, resulting in the disappearance of spawning grounds).
Science painting ©of a turtle Wikipedia
Releases are also affecting the environment
In recent years, turtles that have appeared in the wild on the mainland mainly come from release activities rather than wild animals, and the released turtle species are mainly red-eared turtles, Florida turtles, grass turtles, flower turtles, Chinese turtles, which are large and low-priced. With the improvement of ecological protection awareness in society, people have gradually become aware of the negative effects of release.
However, from a scientific point of view, most turtles and turtles released in the wild are extremely difficult to live in the wild, especially in the northern part of the mainland. Many turtles are shipped out of the farm in woven bags, where they undergo temperature changes, crushing, dehydration, lack of oxygen, etc., and few individuals released into the wild survive. Most of the turtles raised in captivity are hybrid offspring, and putting them in the wild can only further contaminate the genes of wild turtles, and the situation similar to giant salamanders appears (for more information, please read "The Original Sin of Farming, Starting with Giant Salamanders").
In 2016, the Hong Kong Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Animals fished out more than 300 released red-eared turtles, and these turtles are also kept in the sea
Although most farmed turtles released into the wild do not survive, this does not mean that we can turn a blind eye to release. The matter of releasing animals should be scientifically managed in accordance with laws and regulations. Now it is necessary to do some targeted basic work at the national level, and prioritize the protection of habitats suitable for turtles and turtles as conservation areas and clean up alien species. Forestry units also need to establish a scientific and complete turtle and turtle rescue process to lay a foundation for the rescue, conservation and release of turtle and turtle species in the country.
Although the turtle is long, the future is uncertain
Aquatic organisms, including turtles and turtles, are directly affected by water and related environmental degradation, most of them lack bright colors, cute shapes, and our historical understanding of them is extremely lacking, and this lack of attention continues to this day.
It can be said that in most areas of the world today, turtle and turtle species are threatened by humans, and the survival of turtles and turtles in the wild in China is even more precarious. Although the turtle has a long life, it is still a time, the turtle and turtle species have a high tolerance for the environment, long life, and seem to be very tenacious, but whether they can complete their life history in nature is a big problem in front of us human beings.
This picture shows the situation of 24 species of freshwater turtles and turtles in China in multiple international and domestic conservation lists, please rotate 90° to view:
Southeastern Asia has one of the highest diversity of turtle and turtle species in the world, but many of their populations are at risk. Turtles and turtles in China are endangered except for the Chinese turtle, which is vulnerable and three turtles that have not yet been assessed. According to mainland law, wild native turtles and turtles other than Chinese turtles are all wild animals under national key protection.
The turtle, the world's largest turtle, was once widely distributed and left many marks on human culture. The legendary turtle of Vietnam carries the sword of restoration, becoming a sacred symbol of the country. And the "weasels" recorded in China, such as the allusion that Gongzi Song wanted to eat the meat of the weasels, and the old weasels in the "Journey to the West" that the Tang monks crossed the Tongtian River, many of them actually refer to turtles. Only one in China and one each in Vietnam remain, and the disappearance of this species seems to be a foregone conclusion.
However, beyond the turtle, China's aquatic plight is still ringing alarm bells again and again, expecting people's attention and change. Hope it's not too late.
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