The Putnam County Sheriff’s Office in Florida said on Facebook on October 21 that they had discovered a “unusual looking tortoise” attempting to cross SR 20 in Interlachen.
The turtle was recognized as an African Sulcata, a kind of tortoise endemic to the Sahara desert rather than Florida, so they realized it didn’t belong in the wild. They believed it was someone’s pet that had escaped.
“He is definitely someone’s tortoise, as he likes people and head pats,” the sheriff’s office said on Facebook.
The next day, they provided an update: they had tracked down the tortoise’s owner and discovered that she had been gone since 2020!
They stated that the tortoise, who they later discovered is female, is in “a little rough shape” after being lost for so long and enduring “a few cold winters,” but she is now back with her owner. The tortoise was discovered not far from where she went missing, having barely walked five miles.
Despite being large and slow-moving creatures, sulcata tortoises have a flair for escape and may dig through their enclosures. Two fugitive sulcata tortoises made headlines last month after being discovered walking the streets.
Another recent incident was the discovery and reunion of a 100-year-old tortoise with his family.