Two years back, I wrote about a carambola tree (starfruit) that was blown down in a storm. That tree has been very prolific and I usually put fruit along the street for free to anyone who wants it. Its been a nice way to share the fruit and also a way to meet some new people. So, seeing the tree down two years ago hurt. Back then, I'd pushed it back up, just to give it a chance. I didn't expect it to live, but it did live and actually kept producing fruit at a high rate. Until...
...the area was recently hit by a severe storm, again. There were lots of trees down and lots of damage done. And, the carambola tree was blown down, again.
Fruit was left sprayed all over the yard.
I wondered if the tree might make it alive, yet again, if I propped it up. With the help of a neighbor, we got it back up, again.
It's not about the tree
I had indeed planned to write about this tree, however, that's really not why I'm writing now. This is about an unexpected visitor.
Returning home on Tuesday, with only one leg out of the car, I noticed the fellow below in the driveway charging at me tortoise-speed:
Talk about startling. I did not expect to see a very large prehistoric-looking tortoise heading straight at me, full turtle throttle. Obviously, the storm had ripped open his enclosure and he was now running free.
What do I do? I didn't want him to get lost or get in the street and get hit, but how do you keep a wandering turtle around? A quick Google Lens search said it was an African Spurred Tortoise...you learn something every day.
I called the wildlife hotline and they took my information. However, they said there's really nothing they could do. It was likely a pet and that I should ask around the neighborhood. I was a little nonplussed..."I'm supposed to just let him walk around? It's a Galapagos Island sized turtle," I said. They again suggested that I ask around the neighborhood, etc. Essentially, I was to treat it like a lost dog.
Immediately, I had a quandary. "What do I do?" I thought.
Options:
I could just let him wander around and wash my hands of the whole thing. But, if he turns up being run over in the street, I'd feel terrible.
I could capture him, somehow, while trying to find his owner. But then, I become somewhat responsible for him. And, how do you capture a large tortoise?
Do I advertise that I have a turtle in the yard? If so, I now am more responsible as the admitted temporary turtle custodian. If I find the owner, that's great. However, worst case scenario, I might not find the owner. Then I've got a turtle on my hands and I have no idea how to care for a turtle. And the worst, worse case scenario would be that I fail to find the owner, then I release him to wander again because I can't take care of the tortoise, but then the owner arrives only to hear that I no longer know where the thing is. "You let him go!" I imagined the owner saying. "And he got run over in the street!!!" Then, I'd really feel terrible and would also then be known throughout the neighborhood as the "tortoise killer."
I had a problem.
What's more, I had a lot of storm clean up still to do. Babysitting a tortoise was not in the plan.
There's too much ingrained responsibility and love of animals in my DNA, so, letting him wander unchaperoned wasn't really going to happen. I opted for choice 2 above, capture, just so I could think better. He was an active guy. I was surprised at how up-and-about an African Spurred Tortoise is. That guy constantly moved around from place to place doing his thing. I guess I'd expected him to sit still and lethargic, like the lazy, handout-receiving animals in a zoo. This tortoise was active. This fellow was now a free range tortoise and he was living large.
Since he was on the loose, and since the storm had wrecked a picket fence and a ladder was handy, I tried to wrangle up a makeshift fence.
He was having none of that cage and immediately started looking for a way out. But, it gave me a little time to change into tortoise-sitting clothes. Within five minutes though, he'd broken right through the pickets. The guy was rather strong and determined. He was back on the loose.
Fortunately, he found the carambola starfruit and started munching away.
I gave up on trying to fence him in and moved ahead to option 3...advertise around the neighborhood. I made a sign:
I asked the guy through the back fence (busted out by the storm) if he knew of anyone with a big turtle.
"He's still around here?" he asked.
"He's right here," I said.
"Oh, he was in the corner over here walking around in circles. I let him out." Meaning, he put the turtle in my yard.
Apparently, this man had gone with option 1...let the tortoise wander. Or maybe that's option 4: pass it on to someone else.
None of the other neighbors seemed home at the time, so, I decided to just wait and see. I went back to work hauling debris from the storm. I'd keep an eye on the tortoise while I worked, try to keep him out of the street, and if he "gets away," I'd point anyone who stops by in that direction. This was, in fact, exactly what the wildlife commission had suggested I do.
I worked, the turtle munched and wandered, grazed on grass, and a couple of passersby took notice of the sign. My hope was that word might get around on social media or that someone might know someone with a turtle in the area. A good hour or so passed.
I sat down to rest. The tortoise was ten feet away enjoying the fruit. He was a curious guy. He'd walk over toward me and look at me kind of like a dog, obviously accustomed to people. And, he would grunt or growl as if to say, "Hello human." Didn't expect that. He really reminded me of an old man, with the bald head and wrinkled neck, walking around grunting, then figuring, "I'll just head over this way and do whatever the heckfire I want to do."
Curious, I got a yardstick to measure him. Measuring him wasn't too easy...he kept moving around and the stick would flop off his shell. Plus, his length from nose to tail depends on how far he stuck his head out. But, I'd jot him down as length 32 inches and width of 16 inches. In my turtle experience...big.
It was getting to be time to shut down. A couple of regular dog walkers were out and about so I figured they'd be good people to put the word out with. I told them about a turtle found and asked... Apparently, the folks diagonal from me "used to have" a big turtle. Sure enough, those people got home just about then. Maybe they saw my sign, because a young man immediately came out to meet me.
"You got a big turtle?" I asked.
"Yep."
"Well, he's right here," I said.
The 20-something skinny young man came over, "That's him," he said and got ready to retrieve the tortoise.
"How much does he weigh?" I asked.
"He's heavy," the young man said, as he heaved and hoisted the big turtle up. The young man strained, but was able to carry the beast away and back across the street.
"Thanks," he said.
"What's his name?" I asked.
"Forty."
"Good name," I said. Forty the Torty. Makes sense.
Sum
The carambola tree is back up. Well see if it has a third life. Forty was an unexpected visitor, he had a big day, and now Forty is back home safe. Whew.
I go by @crrdlx or "CR" for short. See all my links or contact info at https://linktr.ee/crrdlx.