EAGAN, Minn. - If only turtles could talk.
A Russian tortoise is back home (we think) with her owner after a mysterious six-month disappearance. It's a saga that came to the public consciousness after an Eagan resident on the 1800 block of Bearpath called police Tuesday night after finding the tortoise outside.
Eagan Police spokesman Aaron Machtemes says an officer went over, picked Jill up (again, we THINK it's Jill), and brought her back to police headquarters where she was housed in a cardboard chip box and fed lettuce and carrots. Machtemes placed a post on Facebook with Jill's picture, hoping her owner would respond.
It didn't take long. Mendota Heights resident Mike Wallace called police early Wednesday saying the Russian tortoise might be his Jill, who wandered away from home last October. Wallace, who has two other Russians, said the tortoises were hanging around his backyard during a party and somehow Jill got away. He searched, put up posters all over his neighborhood... and heard nothing. Wallace had given up hope of finding his lost tortoise until seeing the Facebook post from Eagan Police.
(Note: Eagan Police thought the tortoise's name was Jane, but Wallace said Jane is the one he got to replace Jill, the tortoise that actually ran away)
"We had some people that were very knowledgeable about tortoises call up and say it's extremely unlikely that the tortoise could survive the winter but it was possible," Machtemes said. "So it's very amazing that the tortoise was able to not only make it miles from home but survive the harsh Minnesota winter."
Jill was found about eight miles away from home.
"They do dig and burrow in for hibernating over the winter months in their natural habitat," Wallace said. "It was great. I definitely see that the tortoise had grown, put on a little weight. She survived the winter fairly well."
Wallace is fairly confident the reptile is his Jill; She has three toes on three of her feet and only one with four, a unique situation among tortoises, but was otherwise unmarked. He says anyone who is missing a Russian tortoise and can describe her accurately is welcome to come and pick her up.
In the meantime, the newly-found tortoise is making herself at home with his two others and settling in for the long haul. We do mean 'long'... as Russian tortoises can live 70 years or so.