A rare, endangered turtle is saved from likely boiling in a Chinese soup pot after wildlife officers and a microchip worked to save it from an ugly fate.

Poachers nabbed the animal, belonging to a species known as "royal turtle" in Cambodia; its name inherited from the practice of feeding its eggs to kings, from a Cambodian river two months ago, and smuggled it across Vietnam's border on a motorbike, along with a horde of other common turtles.

Conservationists guess the 33 pound turtle wouldn't have fared well within China's food market, where turtle meat, considered a delicacy, is often used in soups.

A raid on the smuggler's house turned up the turtle with about 30 others, all of which were confiscated and transported to a wildlife inspection center, where workers noted something different about this particular turtle: its size, head and eyes were different from the rest in the group.

After consulting a wildlife book and calling an Asian turtle specialist, Vietnamese wildlife officials realized they were dealing with Batagur basma, a very rare turtle species thought to have disappeared in Cambodia until it was rediscovered in 2001, when conservationists began tagging the animals with tracking devices.

When officials inspected the turtle in Ho Chi Minh City, they discovered a microchip placed under its skin, which pinpointed its exact home, at the Sre Ambel River in southern Cambodia.

Doug Hendrie, Asian turtle specialist, said there are only two to eight females that remain there, making this male turtle's return vital. It had been tagged in Cambodia two years ago for research purposes.

The turle has since been shipped back to Cambodia and will undergo health checks before he is returned to the wild.