Vietnam’s “Professor Turtle” Keeps Lake Legend Alive

Grant McCool at Planet Ark:

Zoologist Ha Dinh Duc, one of Hanoi’s best-known characters and world famous in his field for tracking the huge turtle living in the centre of Vietnam’s capital, is retiring soon.

But he is not giving up his quest for recognition of the turtle as a unique species after 15 years of following its movements in the murky green water.

“I call the turtle great-grandfather,” said Duc, 65, who displays an obvious attachment to the 2-metre (6 ft 7 in) long and 1.1-metre (3 ft 7 in) wide endangered turtle he named after an emperor.

More here.