5 Turtles from Nearly Extinct Species Fly Home to Hong Kong

Asia's turtles and tortoises are in an extinction crisis. Few species embody that more than the critically endangered golden coin turtle ( Cuora trifasciata ), which is so valued in the illegal pet trade and for its use in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) that a single specimen can fetch $25,000 or more on the black market. The turtles are commonly ground into a medicinal jelly called gui-ling gao , which TCM practitioners say promotes general well-being or can even cure cancer--claims that, of course, have no scientific basis.Golden coin turtles have been so overharvested from mainland China and Vietnam that, in all likelihood, they no longer exist in those locations. The only place they are known to still live in the wild is Hong Kong, where a few pocket populations remain in a handful of undeveloped areas and on offshore islands "in very, very small numbers," says Eric Goode, president of the Turtle Conservancy in New York City. [More]