Too bad the summer weather won't last...

Today I want to talk about a species we met last week which we didn't know were endangered!

Know this guy?!

They're called the Pig Nosed Turtle and...

you can meet them still at the Sunshine Aquarium in Ikebukuro!! (until May 6th 2018)

As you can guess from the name, these guys have really cute noses like pigs.

They're categorized as VULNERABLE on the IUCN red list, mainly due to habitat loss and being caught recklessly for pet purposes.

These 2 turtles from the photo above are actually not from the aquarium, but they live at our go-to Italian resto.

They're most like treated really well because they're always really friendly♥

Now, some of you may have thought          "don't we eat them?!"

The ones we eat have very similar physical traits as this Pig Nosed Turtle, 

but they are actually a different subspecies called the Soft Shell Turtle.

In Japanese, Soft Shells are called SUPPON and Pig Noses are called FAKE SUPPON (how mean is that?! haha)

Soft shell turtles are a delicacy in Asia; turtle hotpot is well known, as well as an alcoholic drink made with turtle blood.

The wild population is also categorized as VULNERABLE on the IUCN red list due to habitat loss and over-hunting.

In Japanese they have similar names which makes them easier to mix up, given that their appearances are really similar too.

Pig nosed turtles: 4 feet look more like fins, suitable for living underwater. (They don't hibernate!)

Soft shell turtles: have small claws on their feet, suitable for both underwater and on land. (They hibernate!)

These guys at the aquarium and resto have fin-like feet so they're definitely Pig nosed turtles :)

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PS. Just wanted to share...

Tortoises are ones that live mainly on land (like giant tortoises) and turtles are ones that live mostly/partially underwater (like sea turtles)!!