While most common turtles can only retract their heads and limbs into their shells, these three unique turtle species can transform themselves into a completely sealed box.
These turtles are collectively referred to as “box turtles.” The first representative is the Black-breasted Turtle (Cuora amboinensis).
This species can turn itself into a completely sealed box by retracting its head and limbs and “closing the lid.” At that point, they become invulnerable as no part of their body is exposed.
Their “lid” consists of two movable plastron pieces. This feature is unique to box turtles and not found in other turtle species. When the “lid” is closed tightly, even the most cunning predators cannot harm the turtle’s soft body parts.
The Black-breasted Turtle primarily inhabits the marshy areas of Southern Vietnam. Their population is rapidly declining due to indiscriminate hunting.
The Yellow-headed Box Turtle (Cuora galbinifrons) resides in the humid forest areas across all three regions of Vietnam.
Similar to the Black-breasted Turtle, the Yellow-headed Box Turtle can also “seal” itself thanks to its two special plastron lids.
This is a beautiful turtle species, popular in many zoos around the world. They are also sought after as exotic pets.
Due to intense hunting, the population of Yellow-headed Box Turtles in Vietnam is very low. They have been listed as an endangered species.
The final representative of box turtles in Vietnam is the Three-striped Box Turtle (Cuora trifasciata), found in several mountainous and midland regions of Northern Vietnam.
This species is famous due to rumors that its parts are used to make cancer treatment medicines. For the past few decades, the Three-striped Box Turtle has been heavily hunted by Chinese traders.
As they become rarer, their prices have skyrocketed, currently around 300 million VND/kg for wild-caught turtles. The price for farmed turtles is “cheaper,” at around 60 million VND/kg.
According to experts, the Three-striped Box Turtle is nearly extinct in the wild.
