Giant Asian Pond Turtle

Heosemys grandis

RANGE Southeast Asia

HABITAT Rivers, streams, lakes, swamps, marshes, and surrounding lands

DIET Fruit, aquatic plants & small animals

Giant Asian pond turtles are among the largest hard-shelled, semi-aquatic Asian turtles. Thi species has strong limbs and webbed toes so that it can swim in water or walk on land with great ease. It has a characteristic light-orange/yellow head and its shell is grey-brown.

Though these turtles are protected by Vietnamese law, their numbers continue to dwindle. They are in rapid decline due to the large-scale trade in food and medicinal products. Their habitat is also threatened by drainage and pollution.