A pet tortoise has been found alive and reunited with its owner after vanishing more than three years ago. (Putnam County Sheriff's Office)
Putnam County, Fla.
A pet tortoise has been reunited with its owner after it went missing more than years ago.
According to the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, deputies came across the tortoise as it was attempting to cross a road in the Interlachen area over the weekend.
Deputies said they later discovered that the reptile was an African sulcata tortoise, which is native to the Sahara Desert.
The sheriff’s office said that wildlife experts told the team that the tortoises are known to be “escape artists” as they can dig out of their enclosures.
Deputies asked on social media if the female tortoise was somebody’s pet as she “likes people and head pats.”
The sheriff’s office ended up turning the tortoise over to Florida’s Wildest Animal Rescue.
According to reports, the rescue team then received a tip about a missing sulcata tortoise from April 2020 that looked similar and disappeared from the same area.
The tortoise’s owner ended up reaching out and confirmed it was indeed their missing reptile of more than three years, the sheriff’s office said.
The reptile has been officially reunited with its owner and is expected to be OK after being found “in a little rough shape” after a few cold winters.