Experts observe rare turtle for the first time in the wild

Visible only in museums and studied only through specimens, the Arakan forest turtle -- one of the world's rarest species of turtle, has been seen in the wild for the first time.

The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) announced that they have discovered five of those highly endangered turtles at an elephant sanctuary in Myanmar which contains thick stands of bamboo that prove to be a good habitat for the turtles. The Arakan forest turtle, which was believed to be extinct until 1994, normally measure less than a foot in length. Beforehand, a specimen of the turtle was last seen in a food market in China. Illicit trade and had caused the near extinction, not only of the Arakan forest turtle but to other endangered species as well.

The WCS team also found yellow tortoises and Asian leaf turtles in the sanctuary – two other species threatened by the illegal wildlife trade.

Livescience.com reports.