Giant Tortoise Mysteriously Appears in the Bronx

Who doesn't love a giant tortoise story? Newsday reports that a Bronx woman discovered a shelled one in the yard of her Baychester home Tuesday. They note that "the giant tortoise species can grow to be four feet long and up to 660 pounds, and are generally living in remote areas of the world. Experts are unsure of how it has been able to survive on its own in the Bronx." (Maybe it was recently fired from the zoo?) This one measures 30 inches and 60 pounds, and has been named Shelly, of course. She's being cared for at the Animal Care and Control Center, so it's unlikely she'll have a run in with some pranksters on the street, like poor 'ol Myrtle the Turtle.

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By Jen Carlson in Arts & Entertainment on April 29, 2009 1:30 PM

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Spirit of 76

Whatever happened with that two-headed turtle that was stolen from a pet shop? Was it ever found or returned?

rbeshenk

If that's an actual pic of the tortoise, Newsday is retarded. The tortoise pictured is not a Galapagos tortoise. It is an African Spur-thighed tortoise (Geochelone Sulcata). Although they can grow up to 200 lbs, they are often sold into the pet trade as tiny babies. They need to be housed indoors in the winter in our climate. Someone must have taken him/her out for the winter and it got out of its enclosure.

Whatever. Outside of some estates in L.I. I know that house them, the people who get sulcatas in this area are just not thinking.