The rarest turtle in the world: British zoo reveals birth that could safeguard a species

One of the world’s rarest species of turtle has hatched at a British zoo for the first time.



The tiny seven-week-old Vietnamese box turtle is so precious that it is being kept in a climate-controlled room at Bristol Zoo Gardens and is hand-fed chopped worms to give it the best possible start in life.



It is the first time a British zoo has ever bred this critically endangered species and is only the second in Europe, after a zoo in Germany, to have done so.

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Hannah Worrall, from Bristol Zoo Gardens holds a seven-week-old Vietnamese box turtle named Vernon, weighing 28g and only 5cm long, one of the worlds rarest species of turtle in the world.

The youngster, which keepers have named Vernon, weighs just 28g and measures around 5cm long - roughly the size of a matchbox.



An adult box turtle weighs around 1kg, measures around 20cm long and can live up to 50 years old.



The new arrival lives in a custom-built Asian turtle breeding room in the reptile house alongside 10 adult box turtles and a few other young turtles, under the watchful eye of the zoo’s team of reptile experts.

Curator of reptiles Tim Skelton, who has cared for turtles for more than 40 years, said: 'This is a very difficult species to breed so I am thrilled with the arrival of this baby after so many years; it is certainly a career highlight.'



The Vietnamese box turtle is a critically endangered species, and this 5cm long, 28 gram youngster was born as part of a programme at Bristol Zoo, which is only the second zoo to have bred the species.

The birth takes the total number of Vietnamese box turtles at Bristol Zoo to seven.



However, there are so few of these turtles in captivity that there is no dedicated zoo breeding programme for them.



The zoo has joined forces with private turtle experts around Europe to form a European breeding programme in an effort to save the species from total extinction.



'Not a lot is known about this species so we can learn an awful lot from this baby to improve our chances of breeding more in future,' Mr Skelton said.



Tim Skelton, curator of reptiles, from Bristol Zoo Gardens holds seven-week-old Vernon. This is the first time the Zoo has ever bred the critically endangered species and just the second zoo in Europe to have bred the turtle.

'These are secretive animals so we are keeping it in a warm, humid and quiet room with a constant temperature, in a boggy tank to replicate its natural habitat where it can burrow among the soil and leaves.'



Box turtles are mainly terrestrial, although they will enter shallow water to hunt and soak.



They are hunted for their meat, for use in medicine or as pets and have been listed as ‘critically endangered’ on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.



The IUCN assesses the conservation status of animal species on a global scale in order to highlight those that are threatened with extinction, and to promote their conservation.



Hannah Worrall, from Bristol Zoo Gardens shows off Vernon the turtle, the zoo's latest star

The palm sized protected species: Tim Skelton, curator of reptiles, from Bristol Zoo Gardens holds a the seven-week-old Vietnamese box turtle named Vernon

Vernon has already become one of the zoo's most famous residents

The tiny animal, weighing 28g and only 5cm long, is one of the worlds rarest species of turtle

Face to face: Hannah Worrall, from Bristol Zoo Gardens holds a seven-week-old Vietnamese box turtle named Vernon

Careful now: The tiny turtle comfortably fits in the hands of Tim Skelton, curator of reptiles, from Bristol Zoo Gardens

VIDEO: Adorable baby turtles! And they're the rarest on the planet!



