Multiple rare turtle species, including critically endangered ones, were just recorded at Phong Dien Nature Reserve in Hue City.
During the 2026 biodiversity survey and monitoring, the Management Board of Phong Dien Nature Reserve (Hue City) reported recording four rare turtle species: the Central Vietnamese box turtle, the impressed tortoise, the big-headed turtle and the four-eyed turtle.
These are all endangered, rare species with high scientific and conservation value, contributing to affirming the richness and distinctive nature of the Central Truong Son forest ecosystem.
Notably, the Central Vietnamese box turtle is classified as critically endangered in the 2024 Vietnam Red Data Book and the 2026 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The recording of this box turtle in four different locations indicates the species' abundance here.
The Central Vietnamese box turtle - a critically endangered species in the Red Data Book. Photo: Phong Dien Nature Reserve.Recording this species in the wild holds special significance given that many populations are sharply declining due to habitat loss and illegal hunting.
The Management Board stated that the new data will continue to be added to the biodiversity database system to serve research, management and the formulation of long-term conservation plans.
Phong Dien Nature Reserve covers an area of over 40,760 hectares and is a typical representative of the Central Truong Son low-mountain evergreen closed forest - an ecosystem rapidly declining in Vietnam. This area plays a crucial role in protecting headwaters, regulating the climate, limiting soil erosion, and maintaining the flow of river and stream systems to Hue.
Big-headed turtle. Photo: Phong Dien Nature Reserve.Phong Dien is also located in the Truong Son ecological region - one of the global biodiversity hotspots, home to many rare species such as the saola, yellow-cheeked gibbon, red-shanked douc, Asiatic black bear and Edwards's pheasant.