MIRAMAR, Fla. – A Miramar woman asked police for help in finding the owner of a tortoise that she found Wednesday, and just four hours after the police department tweeted the message, Zulu was reunited with its owner.
Police said the woman found the large tortoise as it was trying to cross the road and called police to assist her in finding its owner.
"I looked over to my right and I seen a big tortoise. I thought it was an ornament, which I knew was out of place," Shelly Daley told Local 10 News.
The tortoise, nicknamed Gamera by its rescuers, is 18 years old and weighs 80 pounds.
Police said he was found about a half a mile from his home and has since been reunited with his owner.
"I'm happy (and) elated," Zulu's owner, Mary Schul, said. "Because I couldn't sleep last night."
Schul said this is the third time the tortoise has escaped from his home.
"When he gets his mind going and he wants to leave, he just goes," Schul said. "And he got out of his cage again."
Schul said she now plans on placing a tag on Zulu in case the curious tortoise ever decides to wander away from home again.
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