Two heads are better than one in hunt for turtle
Police launched a major search yesterday - for a missing turtle. They are scanning surveillance camera footage for the creature, which was last seen about two weeks ago.
And it should stand out from the crowd, because it's got two heads.
The endangered turtle has gone missing from Noah's Ark theme park on Ma Wan.
The 8cm-long turtle, worth about HK$20,000, was kept in the park's Two-Head Castle exhibition hall.
The operator, Media Evangelism Limited, called in police yesterday.
Detectives from the Kwai Tsing police district have been assigned to investigate the case, which has been classified as theft.
'It is the first time that an animal has been reported missing from the Noah's Ark theme park,' an officer on the case said. 'We are looking into all possible clues. It is possible that the turtle was stolen by a visitor or an employee or is hiding somewhere in the exhibition hall.'
The turtle, which is a member of the Chinemys reevesii or Reeve's turtle species, had been kept with more than 10 other two-headed turtles since March last year.
The operator said the turtles were bought overseas and in Hong Kong and each cost tens of thousands of Hong Kong dollars.
The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department says the two-headed turtle is an Appendix Three endangered species and its trade is subject to permits or certificates of origin.
A department spokesman said the operator was licensed to exhibit the turtles and conservation officers were following up the case. Police confirmed surveillance camera records would be studied as part of the investigation.
Media Evangelism said it would examine the eventual results of the police inquiry to see if security in the exhibition hall needed to be improved.
A spokeswoman said the survival rate of the two-headed turtle, found in streams and ponds in Japan, Korea, Taiwan and on the mainland, was extremely low.
The Ark exhibit, a replica of the ship in which Noah is said to have saved two of every species of animal from a great flood, was opened in 2009. Hong Kong's ark was built not to save the animals, but to promote family, nature and moral values.
It covers an area of 270,000 square feet and has five levels, each with a different theme, including Ark Expo, Treasure House, and Ark Life Education House.
It also has a seaside restaurant and a top-floor hotel - Noah's Resort.
One of the main attractions is the Two-Head Castle that exhibits rare animals including two-headed turtles and single-eyed fish.
