Man catches giant foreign turtle while fishing

A man in Tianjin unexpectedly caught a strange turtle with a rough carapace and powerful hooked jaws, weighing up to 7 kilograms, while fishing in a river over the weekend.

Experts found it to be an alligator snapping turtle, the largest of its species that has been introduced into China from North America as a pet. Its owners probably set it free to the river, they said.

Such alien species should not have been put in local waters as they may threaten local species and even damage their biological chain, they said.

www.tj.xinhuanet.com

Ancient trees get extra protection

Shanhaiguan, a district of Qinghuangdao in Hebei Province, brought all of its ancient trees under protection last week.

An investigation has been launched to catalogue all local old trees with the help of experts and volunteers.

To date, up to 600 such trees have been screened out as the ones that need special protection.

Hebei Daily

(China Daily 08/16/2006 page5)