Why are people in Vietnam worried about the safety of the turtle in Hoan Kiem Lake?

HANOI, Vietnam — A very large turtle, a mythic image of Vietnamese autonomy and life span that had discreetly rowed around Hanoi's focal lake for a considerable length of time — some state hundreds of years — is dead, official state news media has announced.  

The turtle, known as Cu Rua, or Great-Grandfather Turtle, gauged an expected 360 pounds and was accepted to have passed on of common causes. Its exact age was obscure.  

It is hard to exaggerate Cu Rua's profound and social hugeness right now and Confucian nation, where the updates on the turtle's downfall provoked an overflowing of bitterness and hand-wringing.