As humans sharing the planet with 8 billion companions, it may be hard to imagine the feeling of being utterly alone in the world. Yet, in the forest animal world above Sheshan Mountain in Suzhou, China, visitors recently became excited upon spotting an animal surfacing to bask in the sun that looked like a cross between a turtle and a softshell turtle.
This remarkable creature is known as the Yangtze giant softshell turtle (Rafetus swinhoei), a living fossil that has survived on Earth for 270 million years. However, today, only two of these turtles remain worldwide, and the chances of them reproducing are extremely slim.
According to reports from Cover News, the Yangtze giant softshell turtle inhabits freshwater environments and is classified as a first-class protected animal in China. Due to its critically low numbers, it has earned nicknames such as "the world's loneliest animal" and "the panda of the water". The turtle's carapace can exceed one meter in length and weigh up to 100 kilograms, making it the largest freshwater softshell turtle globally.
The species is named for its gray-green shell dotted with yellow spots. It is carnivorous, primarily preying on fish and crustaceans. Historically, the Yangtze giant softshell turtle was found in the Yellow River, Yangtze River, Taihu Lake, Qiantang River, Red River in China, and the Ma River basin in Vietnam. However, excessive human fishing, habitat destruction, and early misidentification with similar species drastically reduced their populations to endangered levels.
Like many related species, the Yangtze giant softshell turtle requires females to lay eggs on sandy beaches, with hatchlings relying on their own strength to crawl back to the water, resulting in very low survival rates. Currently, only one individual named "Su Su", a male, remains in Suzhou, China.
Xinhua News Agency noted that efforts were made to breed Su Su with a female named "Xiang Xiang" from Changsha Zoo. Although mating and egg-laying were successful, none of the hatchlings survived the early incubation stages. Breeding these turtles is extremely challenging, as pairing males and females is difficult. In April 2019, experts attempted artificial insemination on Xiang Xiang for the fifth time, but it failed, and she passed away shortly afterward.
With the loss of Xiang Xiang, Su Su has become the last known Yangtze giant softshell turtle in China. Beyond technical difficulties, Li Wei, deputy director of the Aquatic Germplasm Resources and Genetic Breeding Research Office at the Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, explained that artificial breeding is currently impossible because all known female turtles have died. If this species is to be revived, it may depend on discovering other individuals in the wild.
