Four endangered turtles whose heads are too big to fit in their shells have been rescued by London Zoo.
The armour-plated turtles arrived at the end of 2018 after being rescued from smugglers who tried to import them into Canada by labelling them as toys.
The big-headed turtles have been cared for by the zoo behind the scenes but now one is moving into the reptile house where visitors will be able to see her.
The turtle, called Lady Triệu after a famous Vietnamese warrior, will be the only one of her kind in a UK zoo – according to ZSL.
Senior reptile keeper Daniel Kane said: “Lady Triệu has taken to her new home like a turtle to water, and we have been watching her closely as she’s busied herself exploring every inch of the aquatic abode.
“These turtles’ heads are so large that unlike others they can’t retract them into their shells so to compensate, nature has given them armour plating from head to tail and a very sharp beak to fend off predators - plus a feisty attitude to go with it.
“Big-headed turtles may not be conventionally cute with their disproportionately large heads and whip-like tails, but they represent a vitally important and unique branch of the evolutionary tree and have so much to teach us about animal adaptions. There is literally no other species like them on earth.”
The turtles originate from the upper mountainous regions of Central China to mainland Southeast Asia. They are hunted for their meat and the international pet trade.
