The world's rarest turtle is now perilously close to extinction after one of its last surviving members died in a zoo in China.
There are now just three Yangtze giant softshell turtles alive after the death of the 90-year-old female at Suzhou zoo .
The tragic death of the 90-year-old turtle followed an unsuccessful attempt to artificially inseminate it.
Staff had made the attempt to impregnate the turtle after it failed to conceive naturally with a turtle 10 years its senior.
It is unclear if there is anything linking the procedure, which was said to have been carried out with no complications, with the death of the turtle.
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An autopsy is due to be performed at a later date.
According to Sohu , experts collected ovarian tissues from the turtle and froze it in liquid nitrogen so it can be used in th efuture.
Alongside the male at Suzhou zoo, there are now only two other known members of the species left, both living in the wild in Vietnam, reports Suzhou Daily.
The huge softshell turtle is the biggest freshwater turtle in the world, growing to 100cm and weighing nearly 16 stone.
Its population fell after centuries of hunting,followed by damage to habitat from pollution and hydroelectric dams.
