3 species of turtles 'most unusual transformation' in Vietnam

These turtles are all called a "box turtle". The first representative is the black-backed box turtle "Cuora amboinensis".

This turtle can turn itself into a sealed box by pulling its head, feet inside and "closing" it. Then they become inviolable because they don't leave any part of their body open.

Their "box lid" is two moving pieces. This is the characteristic of box turtles that other turtles do not have. When tightening the "lid", the dexterous enemy cannot even harm the software of the turtle's body.

Black-backed box turtles live mainly in the wetlands of South Vietnam. Their numbers are falling sharply due to being hunted for bluff.

The golden forehead box turtle (Cuora galbinifrons) lives in the humid forest areas of all three regions of Vietnam.

Like the black-backed box turtle, the golden forehead box turtle also has the ability to "box" itself with two special bibs.

This is a beautiful, beloved turtle in many zoos around the world. They are also the object of many hunters making ornamental creatures.

Due to the intense hunting, the number of golden boxed turtles in Vietnam is very small. They were included in the list of endangered animals.

The last representative of the box turtle species in Vietnam is the Cuora trifasciata (Cuora trifasciata), which occurs in some mountainous and midland areas in northern Vietnam.

This is a famous turtle because of rumors that its species is the raw material for processing cancer medicines. In recent decades, three-striped box turtles in Vietnam have been hunted by Chinese traders.

The more they become scarce, the higher their prices are pushed up, currently about 300 million VND / kg for turtles caught in the forest. The price of artificial breeding turtles is "cheaper", only about VND 60 million / kg.

According to experts, the three-bar box turtle is almost extinct in the wild.