Found a "Turtle" in the Wild and Brought It Home to Feed... Its "Neck Stretching" Startled Me Backwards! Rare Identity Revealed

Nature is filled with mysteries and is vast beyond measure. When encountering unfamiliar plants and animals in the wild, the best approach is to appreciate them with your eyes and feel them with your heart, rather than casually picking, feeding, or claiming them as your own.

A practicing veterinarian in China, known by the nickname "Veterinarian Xiao Ming", shared an intriguing story in his column. A man found a strangely shaped wild turtle while out for a walk and brought it home. After feeding it, he realized that this animal was extraordinary.

According to Veterinarian Xiao Ming's column in the Chinese media outlet "Today's Headlines", a man came across a wild turtle during an outing. Noticing its unusual appearance, he decided to take it home. Upon returning, he prepared some meat to feed the turtle, only to be startled as the turtle's neck elongated more and more, causing him to step back in fear.

This wild turtle had a neck much longer than that of an ordinary turtle and even bore patterns similar to a snake. The man quickly took photos to seek clarification, and his friends exclaimed that he was fortunate to encounter the "Xuanwu", regarded as one of the ancient mythical beasts.

It is said that the Xuanwu is based on this type of turtle known as the "snake-necked turtle" (Chelodina). The older generation also refers to it as the "Xuanwu turtle", which has become quite rare today. The snake-necked turtle is indeed very rare; for instance, the "Roti Island snake-necked turtle" is classified as critically endangered.

According to Taipei Zoo's introduction, they successfully bred two baby snake-necked turtles for the first time in 2021, requiring careful nurturing and care. Unlike ordinary turtles, the snake-necked turtle's most recognizable feature is its long, flexible neck resembling that of a snake.

The Roti Island snake-necked turtle is carnivorous and can eat milk mice, beef, chicken, and shrimp. However, baby snake-necked turtles can only consume live prey. At two weeks old, they are still not adept at catching small fish or shrimp; therefore, caretakers provide them with mosquito larvae, fruit fly larvae, and newly hatched invasive species tadpoles for their diet.

At that time, although the seven baby turtles were small—about the size of a 50-cent coin—they could consume nearly a hundred tadpoles in one meal! Did you know there exists such a remarkable creature as the snake-necked turtle?