- HANOI (Sapa) - The tiny bubbles
on the lake's glass-like surface are faint, but enough to cause shouts
of excitement and draw crowds of spectators.
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- Within minutes, a yellow-green pointed snout the size
of a human head nudges through the surface, followed by a pair of big black,
droopy eyes.
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- "It's like a giant," exclaims one Vietnamese
onlooker.
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- Others can hardly believe their eyes. "I thought
it was just a story," says English teacher Simon Cartwright as he
witnessed one of Hanoi's most elusive sights - a giant turtle that lives
in Hoan Kiem Lake, the capital Hanoi's cultural heart.
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- For years, many residents of Vietnam's capital believed
that tales of huge turtles in Hoan Kiem Lake were only a myth, like the
Loch Ness Monster.
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- But with more frequent sightings reported and new studies
in the last decade, scientists now say the Hoan Kiem turtle is real - though
it may be the last of its kind.
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- Unique species
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- It may already be too late to save the turtle from extinction,
according to Professor Ha Dinh Duc, Vietnam's foremost expert on the two-metre-long
turtle, which he believes is an unique species.
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- "There are no other colonies of the giant turtle
in Hanoi's other lakes, and there is no breeding programme because there
is only one giant turtle left," the professor says.
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- Duc has named the turtle in the lake "Rafetus leloii"
after King Le Loi, the founder of Thanh Long, the 1 000-year-old city that
became Hanoi.
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- The legend of the Hoan Kiem turtle has been around for
nearly as long. As the story goes, after Le Loi defeated Chinese invaders
using a magical sword sent by the gods, he enjoyed a leisurely jaunt on
the lake. A giant golden turtle appeared from the depths and surfaced near
the king's boat.
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- The regal sword began to vibrate, and the turtle spoke
instructing the king to return the weapon to its heavenly owners. The sword
flew out of the king's belt and into the turtle's mouth, and the golden
tortoise submerged. For centuries, the lake has been known as Hoan Kiem,
"The Lake of the Restored Sword."
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- Fast forward 1 000 years and it is still possible to
see what may be the largest and rarest freshwater turtle in the world.
It is seen only once or twice a month.
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- How long the turtle will remain there is uncertain, though.
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- Professor Duc first spotted the giant reptile - which
is notoriously shy and can stay underwater for days at a time - a decade
ago and has been studying it ever since. - Sapa-DPA
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