About Cantor's Giant Softshell Turtle:
- It is also known as the Asian giant softshell turtleand the frog-faced softshell turtle.
- It is a species known for its rarity and secretive nature.
- It spends most of its life buried and motionless, with only its eyes and mouth protruding from the sand.
- It surfaces only twice a day to take a breath and capture its prey by sit-and-wait strategy using an element of surprise.
- These turtles are primarily carnivores (piscivores) feeding on fish, crustaceans, and molluscs.
- Distribution: It is found in eastern and southern India, Bangladesh, Burma, Thailand, Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, eastern and southern China.
- Habitat: They inhabit inland, slow-moving, freshwater rivers, lakes, streams, and estuaries.
- Conservation status
- IUCN: Critically endangered
- CITES: Appendix II
- Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Schedule I
- Threats: Habitat destruction has made it disappear from much of its environment. They are also heavily harvested by locals for meat.
