Scientists collect sperm from a male Yangtze giant softshell turtle at the Suzhou Zoo in Suzhou City, East China’s Jiangsu Province amid efforts to save the world's most endangered turtle. The male and female turtles at the zoo - both believed to be greater than 100 years of age - were brought together in May 2008 as part of a captive breeding program initiated by TSA (Turtle Survival Alliance) and the WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society) China program. The two turtles had been courting each other for years, but eggs laid by the female were not fertilized. In May 2005, scientists artificially inseminated the female with the male’s sperm, but to no avail. Listed on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Red List, the Yangtze giant softshell turtle is the most critically endangered turtle in the world. (Photo/CFP)
