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Tortoise Travels Six Miles To Local Zoo For Female

Tortoise Travels Six Miles To Local Zoo For Female

He had one thing on his mind...

James Dawson

James Dawson

A 70-year-old tortoise travelled an entire six miles to a local zoo after getting word that a young female had just moved in.

Freddie set off from his home in St Mary, Jersey, only to be found 24 hours later at Jersey Zoo - putting his speed at an average of 0.25 miles an hour.

Sadly for him, he was handed in to a tortoise sanctuary before he could meet the zoo's new female tortoise, Astrid.

Credit: SWNS

He has now been reunited with his owner Joanne Stanton after a Facebook appeal and is preparing for hibernation.

Joanne Stanton, 53, of St Mary, Jersey, describes Freddie as a 'typically slow' tortoise and was amazed at how much ground he covered.

She said: "He does pick up a bit of speed when he sees a dandelion.

"Whether he had a few dandelions before he set off, I don't know."

Credit: SWNS

Freddie has been part of Mrs Stanton's family for more than half a century, but she recently took him in from her father-in-law three years ago.

He previously ran away and went missing for more than a year, leading to Mrs Stanton painting her address on his shell.

She added: "In the past when the father had him, Freddie went missing for more than a year and when he got him back he painted the address on the shell.

"Although it had worn off, there were still specs of white paint which was how we knew it was him.

Credit: SWNS

"He lives in a hut in the garden and when we came back from work, he was no-where to be seen.

"We then got a call to say he had been found round the back of the zoo. We have a fence around the garden but he must have bashed his way out. It is a bit of mystery."

Hopefully he'll get another shot after hibernation.

Featured Image Credit: SWNS

Topics: World News, Zoo, Animals