Sun, 19 Apr 2026 03:34:24 +0000

You Won’t Believe How Endangered the Fly River Turtle Really Is—Act Now to Save It! When most people think about endangered species, they picture charismatic animals like elephants, tigers, or sea turtles gliding gracefully through vast oceans. But few realize that deep in the remote wetlands of Papua (New Guinea), one of the world’s rarest and most threatened freshwater turtles—Carettochelys insculpta, commonly known as the Fly River turtle—is teetering on the brink of extinction. A Hidden Gem Under Severe Threat The Fly River turtle is a remarkable but enigmatic species found only in the Fly River system, which straddles the shared border of Papua (Indonesian New Guinea) and Papua New Guinea. This freshwater turtle, named for the mighty river it calls home, plays a crucial role in its fragile ecosystem. However, due to habitat destruction, overharvesting for food and traditional medicine, and limited scientific knowledge about its population trends, the Fly River turtle is officially classified as Critically Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).