Missing Russian - Behavior Questions...

[madge1234]

Hello,

We made our Russian what we thought was an escape-proof outdoor enclosure. But last Saturday, she escaped. We thought she had been stolen initially, but after quite a bit of media attention, we learned two days after the fact that she was found by trying to cross a busy street, and a good Samaritan helped her across and placed her in a wooded area.

She was then found a block away Tuesday morning. However, we didn't find this out until Tuesday evening. So she kept roaming.

The area she was placed and then spotted has a triangular-shaped geographical barrier. On one side is a steep hill, at the top of which are residential homes and then a busy street. On the other two sides are a creek. Within this triangle and close to where she was spotted is a large meadow with thick grasses and weeds.

I've flyered the area, it's gotten much media attention, neighbors have been helping, residents in the area are keeping a lookout, and I've searched for hours but still nothing.

My concern is that she's in the meadow, which is probably two football fields long and at least one football field wide. With her short legs, would she even attempt to walk through such a field? I'd imagine it would require her to expend a lot of energy.

Also would she gravitate toward the creek? For the most part, she would have to cross rocky or weedy and often steep embankments in order to get to it. Would this be something she would attempt?

And the steep hill that leads to the houses and the street. Would she be able to climb this? Mostly it is grass. There are no rocks that would assist her.

Any insight into tortoise behavior would be appreciated. I'm really worried about predators, her falling into the creek and drowning, or her crossing the road and getting hit. The sooner we find her the better.

Thank you for any and all help!

 

[lismar79]

Russians can and will climb anything so do not rule anything out. Good luck finding her, they are a tough species so I'm sure she will be ok until you do.

 

[Jodie]

I agree with the above. They are tough and cover a lot of ground. Best of luck to you.

 

[Yvonne G]

They make tunnels through the grass. She probably feels she's died and gone to tortoise heaven! Good luck. I hope you're able to find her and bring her home. The media blitz you've done is a very good thing.

 

[Carol S]

I hope you find her soon.

 

[dmmj]

They climb like acrobats, cap any corners. They like to wander, she may go to the creepy but most likely won't stay

 

[madge1234]

Thank you, everyone, for the information. I'm at a loss as to where she could be, whether it's the triangular area I suspect or she's made it up the hill and across the street and then who knows how far she could have gotten.

Yvonne, I am certain she's the happiest she's ever been in her life! That gives me some solace. I just hope she stays safe.

I'll update this post if and when I get news.

 

[Yellow Turtle01]

I hope you find her!

 

[madge1234]

Good news! She has been found. She was two miles from home, and she either had to cross a creek or two busy streets to get where she ended up. And, yes, she must have climbed that big hill.

Here is what I learned about finding missing tortoises:

1. Don't lose them. Ha ha. We had lids on her enclosure but they didn't have latches. We are adding latches to them. Don't leave them outside when you are gone or asleep.
2. Get the word out. Alot. And don't stop.
a) I knocked on doors and gave nearly 100 flyers to residents all around the area.
b) I started a Facebook page and posted a plea to find her, I friended as many people as I knew, and asked them to be on the lookout and to share the post with all their Facebook friends. This was critical! Someone posted a pic of her kids outside playing with my tortoise (not realizing she was a missing pet, but knowing she wasn't wild either) on Facebook. A friend of mine saw her post and passed my info along to her.
c) I e-mailed flyers to every vet office, shelter, and wildlife rescue and asked them to post them in their offices. I asked my vet to share my post on their Facebook page. Conceivably, you could ask each vet with a Facebook page to do the same thing.
d) I gave a flyer to FedEx and asked them to put it in their break room, thinking that a driver might see her. I could/should have asked UPS and the post office, but I didn't.
e) If you have a local lost pet organization, pass your info on to them.
3. Be visible. It reminds people to keep looking. When I knocked on doors, I asked permission to search their yards unannounced. Nobody said no. I searched three times a day for an hour or two each time. Sometimes when I was out looking, I noticed other people were out looking too! They referred to me as the "turtle lady." It was really a community effort.
4. Pray, pray, pray. I asked for a sign that she was safe, and I got it. Later, I asked for a sign that she would be found, and I got it. She was found three days later.
5. File a police report. This was also critical. They posted it on their Facebook page and it got huge exposure. Local news outlets contacted me and ran stories in their papers/TV stations. I got some leads on her whereabouts this way (it was usually too late, but it helped me establish where she had been and where to distribute more flyers).

That's all I can think of for now. For anyone who has lost their tortoise, feel free to contact me for advice or info on my experience.

Thanks to everyone for their support and well wishes!

 

[dmmj]

HUZZAH

 

[Tom]

Except for the losing-your-tortoise-in-the-first-place part, you did a GREAT job. Glad you got her back.

Amazing how far such a little thing can travel, huh?

 

[4jean]

Wow, so glad for the happy ending! I am so glad your hard work paid off! It sounds like she had a great adventure

 

[Clunk]

What a happy ending! Your perseverance really paid off! I lost mine for only 4 hours years ago but those were some very long hours while we all searched for him. It's really hard to secure these hard-shelled Houdinis, they're very persistent in their escape attempts.

 

[Jodie]

Good work! Glad she is home. I like happy endings the best.