Why did the tortoise cross the road?
Or better yet, how did the tortoise outpace its keepers for 3 miles before crossing the road?
These are no doubt questions that a local ostrich ranch in the Arizona town of Picacho will be asking after state troopers called and asked if they were missing a large desert tortoise.
The charade began on July 30th when a Department of Public Safety trooper received a call from a concerned citizen that a sulcata tortoise as big as a Thanksgiving turkey was trying to cross Interstate 10 between Casa Grande and Tuscon.
DPS Sgt. Steven Sekrecki arrived on the scene and located the large reptile who was at that point still unharmed.
On its shell, the Sergeant noticed the word “Stich” written in pen, and assumed it was held by a facility near by.
According to the Arizona Republic, a local ostrich range confirmed Stitch was one of their resident tortoises and had recently escaped from his habitat.
The speedy tortoise had managed to wander 3 miles from the ranch before it made itself known on the highway.
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The sulcata, or African spurred tortoise, is actually an endangered species of reptile and is native to the Sahara Desert, not North America.
Approximately 9,000 tortoises were taken from the wild for the illegal pet trade between 1990 and 2010. It makes for a good pet because it’s incredibly docile and not territorial, while also being the third-largest species of tortoise in the world, behind the Aldabara giant tortoise and those of the Galapagos.
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Suddenly, Sergeant Sekrecki’s reptile rescue became one of tangible value to global wildlife conservation, and for that we salute him.
SHARE This Remarkable Escape Attempt By This Beautiful Tortoise…