Actions

Missing Tortoise found alive in Midlothian

Posted at 12:20 PM, Jan 04, 2017
and last updated 2017-01-04 14:20:04-05

UPDATE: Shredder the African Sulcata Tortoise was found alive.

“We found him!” owner Michelle Vivian-Slade said. “He was all the way under my shed in the yard buried in the dirt under leaves. We crawled all the way under and saw a lump and it was him!”

shredder

CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. — A life and death search is underway in Midlothian for an African Sulcata Tortoise who escaped from a home in the Deer Run Subdivision.

“The temperatures in Virginia this time of year are FAR TOO COLD for a Tortoise of this species,” the Richmond Wildlife Center posted on Facebook. “He most likely escaped and is hunkered down unable to move due to hypothermia. This is a life and death situation.”

Wildlife center workers asked people who lived in the Deer Run neighborhood to check around their home and in the woods near their homes for the Tortoise.

“[He was last seen] in the vicinity of Velvet Antler Drive. However, despite misconception they are pretty fast and can travel long distances quickly,” a spokesperson for the wildlife center said.

If you find the Tortoise, call the Richmond Wildlife Center at 804-378-2000 or 804-614-4325 (After Hours Emergencies).

CBS6-News-at-4pm-and-Jennifer-Hudson-480x360.jpg

Entertainment

Watch 'The Jennifer Hudson Show' weekdays at 3 p.m. on CBS 6!

📱 Download CBS 6 News App
The app features breaking news alerts, live video, weather radar, traffic incidents, closings and delays and more.