http://edition.cnn.com/2016/01/21/asia/vietnam-giant-turtle-dead/
Shell shock as sacred Vietnamese turtle dies
By Kevin Lui, for CNN
Updated 0721 GMT (1521 HKT) January 21, 2016
Cu Rua, the giant turtle that once lived in Hanoi's Hoan Kiem lake, is seen surfacing from the deep. According to Vietnamese folklore, a turtle in the Hoan Kiem lake helped a Vietnamese king fend off the Chinese aggressors nearly six centuries ago.
5 photos: Vietnam's sacred giant turtle
Cu Rua, the giant turtle that once lived in Hanoi's Hoan Kiem lake, is seen surfacing from the deep. According to Vietnamese folklore, a turtle in the Hoan Kiem lake helped a Vietnamese king fend off the Chinese aggressors nearly six centuries ago.
Hide Caption
1 of 5
Occasions when the giant turtle surfaces from its home in Hanoi's Hoan Kiem lake, like this on March 7, 2011, would attract attention. Pollution of the lake was one of the threats facing the shelled creature.
5 photos: Vietnam's sacred giant turtle
Occasions when the giant turtle surfaces from its home in Hanoi's Hoan Kiem lake, like this on March 7, 2011, would attract attention. Pollution of the lake was one of the threats facing the shelled creature.
Hide Caption
2 of 5
Rescuers captured the turtle in April 2011 for three months of treatment. Concern had mounted in months leading up to that moment over its health, as lesions were seen on its body.
5 photos: Vietnam's sacred giant turtle
Rescuers captured the turtle in April 2011 for three months of treatment. Concern had mounted in months leading up to that moment over its health, as lesions were seen on its body.
Hide Caption
3 of 5
Hundreds of residents and tourists watch rescuers using boats and nets as they begin efforts to capture and treat the legendary but ailing giant turtle described as the "spirit of the nation."
5 photos: Vietnam's sacred giant turtle
Hundreds of residents and tourists watch rescuers using boats and nets as they begin efforts to capture and treat the legendary but ailing giant turtle described as the "spirit of the nation."
Hide Caption
4 of 5
A model of the turtle on display in the center of Hanoi when the city celebrated its millennium anniversary in 2010.
5 photos: Vietnam's sacred giant turtle
A model of the turtle on display in the center of Hanoi when the city celebrated its millennium anniversary in 2010.
Hide Caption
5 of 5
vietnam giant turtle 1vietnam giant turtle 3vietnam giant turtle 2vietnam giant turtle 5vietnam giant turtle 4
Story highlights
An extremely rare giant soft-shell turtle living in Vietnam's capital has died
Cu Rua -- "great-grandfather turtle" in Vietnamese -- was spotted floating in Hanoi's Hoan Kiem lake Tuesday
(CNN)An extremely rare, giant soft-shell turtle, whose existence was connected to the country's folklore, has died in Hanoi, Vietnam's capital, according to reports.
The turtle, known to locals as Cu Rua, "great-grandfather turtle" in Vietnamese, was spotted floating lifelessly in Hanoi's Hoan Kiem lake Tuesday afternoon, reports state-run news agency VNS.
Officials say old age and bad weather are to blame for its demise, and that its shell will be preserved at the Vietnam Nature Museum.
The turtle is believed to have been between 80 and 100 years old.
Internet users in Vietnam have been expressing their disappointment on social media since the news broke.
Little bit sad about the death of Hanoi's great old turtle. The city just got sightly less magical.
— Steve Jackson (@ourman) January 20, 2016
Aw no, turtle https://t.co/WEd8UebVyO
— Nguyen Duy Pham (@nguyenhimself) January 19, 2016
Folk legend in Vietnam has it that Le Loi, a real 15th-century Vietnamese emperor, fended off an attempted Chinese invasion with a magical sword. A mythical turtle was said to have taken that sword from him after his victory.
The lake where this is said to have happened is named after the tale and is known as Ho Hoan Kiem, meaning "lake of the returned sword."
It was in this same lake that Cu Rua lived.
One of a kind
The soft-shell turtle is said to be one of the only four known specimens of the Yangtze giant soft-shell turtle, Rafetus swinhoei.
Cu Rua's demise means that only three are now left in the world, according to the VNS report -- one in another lake in Hanoi and two others in Shanghai, China.
In 2011, it was taken out of the lake and received three months of medical treatment, before it was restored to good health and returned.
This trip also uncovered something else.
Unlike what its name suggests, Cu Rua was a female -- not a grandfather at all.
News of the turtle's death came at a politically sensitive time, just one day before the 12th Congress of Communist Party of Vietnam, the country's ruling party, was due to open. This coincidence has not gone unnoticed.
The "sacred turtle of Hoan Kiem lake" believed to be over 100 y.o. and beloved by Hanoians has just died. Is it a sign?
— Nga Pham (@ngahpham) January 19, 2016
A dead turtle could become a "sensitive news" just because it's died 1 day before the party congress. Welcome to #Vietnam.
— Nguyen Phuong Linh (@LinhPNguyen) January 19, 2016
READ: Vietnam says China moved oil rig into contested waters in South China Sea
Shell shock as sacred Vietnamese turtle dies
By Kevin Lui, for CNN
Updated 0721 GMT (1521 HKT) January 21, 2016
Cu Rua, the giant turtle that once lived in Hanoi's Hoan Kiem lake, is seen surfacing from the deep. According to Vietnamese folklore, a turtle in the Hoan Kiem lake helped a Vietnamese king fend off the Chinese aggressors nearly six centuries ago.
5 photos: Vietnam's sacred giant turtle
Cu Rua, the giant turtle that once lived in Hanoi's Hoan Kiem lake, is seen surfacing from the deep. According to Vietnamese folklore, a turtle in the Hoan Kiem lake helped a Vietnamese king fend off the Chinese aggressors nearly six centuries ago.
Hide Caption
1 of 5
Occasions when the giant turtle surfaces from its home in Hanoi's Hoan Kiem lake, like this on March 7, 2011, would attract attention. Pollution of the lake was one of the threats facing the shelled creature.
5 photos: Vietnam's sacred giant turtle
Occasions when the giant turtle surfaces from its home in Hanoi's Hoan Kiem lake, like this on March 7, 2011, would attract attention. Pollution of the lake was one of the threats facing the shelled creature.
Hide Caption
2 of 5
Rescuers captured the turtle in April 2011 for three months of treatment. Concern had mounted in months leading up to that moment over its health, as lesions were seen on its body.
5 photos: Vietnam's sacred giant turtle
Rescuers captured the turtle in April 2011 for three months of treatment. Concern had mounted in months leading up to that moment over its health, as lesions were seen on its body.
Hide Caption
3 of 5
Hundreds of residents and tourists watch rescuers using boats and nets as they begin efforts to capture and treat the legendary but ailing giant turtle described as the "spirit of the nation."
5 photos: Vietnam's sacred giant turtle
Hundreds of residents and tourists watch rescuers using boats and nets as they begin efforts to capture and treat the legendary but ailing giant turtle described as the "spirit of the nation."
Hide Caption
4 of 5
A model of the turtle on display in the center of Hanoi when the city celebrated its millennium anniversary in 2010.
5 photos: Vietnam's sacred giant turtle
A model of the turtle on display in the center of Hanoi when the city celebrated its millennium anniversary in 2010.
Hide Caption
5 of 5
vietnam giant turtle 1vietnam giant turtle 3vietnam giant turtle 2vietnam giant turtle 5vietnam giant turtle 4
Story highlights
An extremely rare giant soft-shell turtle living in Vietnam's capital has died
Cu Rua -- "great-grandfather turtle" in Vietnamese -- was spotted floating in Hanoi's Hoan Kiem lake Tuesday
(CNN)An extremely rare, giant soft-shell turtle, whose existence was connected to the country's folklore, has died in Hanoi, Vietnam's capital, according to reports.
The turtle, known to locals as Cu Rua, "great-grandfather turtle" in Vietnamese, was spotted floating lifelessly in Hanoi's Hoan Kiem lake Tuesday afternoon, reports state-run news agency VNS.
Officials say old age and bad weather are to blame for its demise, and that its shell will be preserved at the Vietnam Nature Museum.
The turtle is believed to have been between 80 and 100 years old.
Internet users in Vietnam have been expressing their disappointment on social media since the news broke.
Little bit sad about the death of Hanoi's great old turtle. The city just got sightly less magical.
— Steve Jackson (@ourman) January 20, 2016
Aw no, turtle https://t.co/WEd8UebVyO
— Nguyen Duy Pham (@nguyenhimself) January 19, 2016
Folk legend in Vietnam has it that Le Loi, a real 15th-century Vietnamese emperor, fended off an attempted Chinese invasion with a magical sword. A mythical turtle was said to have taken that sword from him after his victory.
The lake where this is said to have happened is named after the tale and is known as Ho Hoan Kiem, meaning "lake of the returned sword."
It was in this same lake that Cu Rua lived.
One of a kind
The soft-shell turtle is said to be one of the only four known specimens of the Yangtze giant soft-shell turtle, Rafetus swinhoei.
Cu Rua's demise means that only three are now left in the world, according to the VNS report -- one in another lake in Hanoi and two others in Shanghai, China.
In 2011, it was taken out of the lake and received three months of medical treatment, before it was restored to good health and returned.
This trip also uncovered something else.
Unlike what its name suggests, Cu Rua was a female -- not a grandfather at all.
News of the turtle's death came at a politically sensitive time, just one day before the 12th Congress of Communist Party of Vietnam, the country's ruling party, was due to open. This coincidence has not gone unnoticed.
The "sacred turtle of Hoan Kiem lake" believed to be over 100 y.o. and beloved by Hanoians has just died. Is it a sign?
— Nga Pham (@ngahpham) January 19, 2016
A dead turtle could become a "sensitive news" just because it's died 1 day before the party congress. Welcome to #Vietnam.
— Nguyen Phuong Linh (@LinhPNguyen) January 19, 2016
READ: Vietnam says China moved oil rig into contested waters in South China Sea
