Tortoise on the lam
85-pound pet escapes NLR yard, sets off neighborhood search.
An 85-pound African spurred tortoise has escaped from her owner’s backyard in North Little Rock.
Chelsea Hattaway said she realized Thursday that Potato, her 14-year-old tortoise, had taken advantage of a loosely latched lock and pushed her way through the gate behind her house on McMurtrey Drive.
“She’s very strong,” said Hattaway.
Hattaway adopted Potato 9 years ago from a California turtle and tortoise rescue.
Hattaway’s daughter was
studying tortoises, so they decided to get one. Potato weighed 25 pounds at that time.
Hattaway said Potato escaped about a month ago from her parents’ house in Little Rock.
“She had only gone three doors down,” Hattaway said. “We found her the next morning sitting in a driveway.”
But it’s different this time. Hattaway’s house is surrounded by woods. She lives in the Crystal Hill neighborhood north of Burns Park and south of Interstate 40.
Hattaway said neighbors and family members were busy looking for Potato on Friday afternoon. She has notified animal control and the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.
Being an African desert tortoise, the heat of an Arkansas August isn’t really a problem for Potato, Hattaway said.
But she can’t take the cold. Hattaway uses a heat lamp to keep Potato warm when the temperature dips below 50 degrees.
“If I don’t find her by the winter, that will be a problem because she can’t survive our winters,” she said.
African spurred tortoises are also known as Sulcata tortoises.
Hattaway said Potato’s shell measures about 18 inches in diameter.
According to the San Diego Zoo, the African spurred tortoise is the largest mainland tortoise. It can grow to more than 30 inches in length. Some males can reach 200 pounds.
“It is surpassed only by the island dweller tortoises from Aldabra and Galapagos,” according to https://bit.ly/3jSru9K.
The African spurred tortoise’s normal lifespan is 80 to 100 years, according to the zoo. Their age of maturity is about 15 years.
“They are curious, intelligent reptiles with lively personalities, especially when young,” according to the website.
In their native habitat, African spurred tortoises eat grasses, flowers, weeds and cacti.
Hattaway said Potato is fond of many vegetables and fruit, particularly strawberries and apples.
Anyone spotting an 85-pound tortoise in the vicinity of the Crystal Hill neighborhood is asked to call Hattaway at (909) 732-8624. She’s offering a reward for Potato’s safe return.