Raphael, the red-painted Lake tortoise, is cleaned and on the mend
Martin E. ComasContact Reporter
Orlando Sentinel
Raphael, the spunky gopher tortoise from Lake County who quickly became an Internet sensation this week, is no longer seeing red.
He’s nearly all cleaned up, and his shell is back to its normal camouflage color, after someone spray-painted him with red paint.
On Friday, the star reptile spent the day plodding around the grounds at Swamp Girl Adventures, an Osceola County animal-rescue facility that cleaned off the paint from the animal’s back.
“He’s obviously trying to find where his home is,” said Kim Titterington, director of Swamp Girl Adventures. “He’s curious about his new environment, but he’s sleeping soundly a good part of the time. And that’s good.”
Named after a member of the fictional Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with a red eye mask, Raphael became famous after a Lake County couple returning home from church on Sunday did a double take when they noticed a small red object slowly crossing County Road 455 just south of the town of Montverde.
It was Raphael, and he was doused from head to tail in red. His limbs also were covered in concrete.
The good Samaritans pulled over, picked up Raphael and drove him to Swamp Girl Adventure, a nonprofit facility that works with the Central Florida Wildlife Center in Okeechobee rehabilitating turtles, tortoises and reptiles.
Workers spent several days cleaning up the jittery animal, who clearly did not like being handled or covered in red paint, Titterington said. They estimate his age at 6 to 8 years old — just a youngster, considering that gopher tortoises can live nearly a century.
On Thursday, officials with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission posted information and photos on Facebook about the red-painted tortoise.
Then, at the speed of the Internet, slow-moving Raphael became a celebrity.
By day’s end, the Facebook post generated more than 1,000 comments and nearly 10,000 shares. Television stations from around the country told the story of the red-painted tortoise.
“It is both illegal and very harmful to the health of a gopher tortoise to apply man-made substances, such as paint or concrete, to any part of their body or shell,” the FWC wrote.
“This is disgusting,” a woman wrote. “This should be a harsh prison sentence.”
Others, however, speculated the red paint may have been the result of an accident.
“Contractors installing underground electrical lines are required to cover them with a red dye integrated into the concrete,” a man wrote. “He [the turtle] may have fell into one of those ditches. Or dug out of one that may have bisected his burrow.”
Even so, painting tortoises is no funny matter.
Tortoises are cold-blooded animals that use their shells to control their body temperatures. And a layer of paint can severely obstruct that ability, said Stephanie Kettle of the Central Florida Zoo in Sanford. A tortoise’s shell is also part of its backbone and rib cage.
“They have nerves and veins running through their shells,” Kettle said. “If he wasn’t found and cleaned, it would not be a good future for him.”
Toxins from the paint also can leach into the tortoise and affect its internal organs, Titterington said.
“We still don’t know what the long-term effects could be,” she said. It’s also unknown how long Raphael was covered in red paint.
In about 10 days, Raphael will be turned over to the FWC and released into an area with other gopher tortoises, Titterington said.
“Like Raphael the ninja turtle, he is strong and a fighter,” she said.
The FWC urges anyone with information about who painted and put concrete on the tortoise to call its Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-3922 or *FWC on a cellphone, or by email to [email protected] Anyone contacting the FWC with a tip can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward.
[email protected]
Copyright [emoji767] 2018, Orlando Sentinel
Martin E. ComasContact Reporter
Orlando Sentinel
Raphael, the spunky gopher tortoise from Lake County who quickly became an Internet sensation this week, is no longer seeing red.
He’s nearly all cleaned up, and his shell is back to its normal camouflage color, after someone spray-painted him with red paint.
On Friday, the star reptile spent the day plodding around the grounds at Swamp Girl Adventures, an Osceola County animal-rescue facility that cleaned off the paint from the animal’s back.
“He’s obviously trying to find where his home is,” said Kim Titterington, director of Swamp Girl Adventures. “He’s curious about his new environment, but he’s sleeping soundly a good part of the time. And that’s good.”
Named after a member of the fictional Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with a red eye mask, Raphael became famous after a Lake County couple returning home from church on Sunday did a double take when they noticed a small red object slowly crossing County Road 455 just south of the town of Montverde.
It was Raphael, and he was doused from head to tail in red. His limbs also were covered in concrete.
The good Samaritans pulled over, picked up Raphael and drove him to Swamp Girl Adventure, a nonprofit facility that works with the Central Florida Wildlife Center in Okeechobee rehabilitating turtles, tortoises and reptiles.
Workers spent several days cleaning up the jittery animal, who clearly did not like being handled or covered in red paint, Titterington said. They estimate his age at 6 to 8 years old — just a youngster, considering that gopher tortoises can live nearly a century.
On Thursday, officials with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission posted information and photos on Facebook about the red-painted tortoise.
Then, at the speed of the Internet, slow-moving Raphael became a celebrity.
By day’s end, the Facebook post generated more than 1,000 comments and nearly 10,000 shares. Television stations from around the country told the story of the red-painted tortoise.
“It is both illegal and very harmful to the health of a gopher tortoise to apply man-made substances, such as paint or concrete, to any part of their body or shell,” the FWC wrote.
“This is disgusting,” a woman wrote. “This should be a harsh prison sentence.”
Others, however, speculated the red paint may have been the result of an accident.
“Contractors installing underground electrical lines are required to cover them with a red dye integrated into the concrete,” a man wrote. “He [the turtle] may have fell into one of those ditches. Or dug out of one that may have bisected his burrow.”
Even so, painting tortoises is no funny matter.
Tortoises are cold-blooded animals that use their shells to control their body temperatures. And a layer of paint can severely obstruct that ability, said Stephanie Kettle of the Central Florida Zoo in Sanford. A tortoise’s shell is also part of its backbone and rib cage.
“They have nerves and veins running through their shells,” Kettle said. “If he wasn’t found and cleaned, it would not be a good future for him.”
Toxins from the paint also can leach into the tortoise and affect its internal organs, Titterington said.
“We still don’t know what the long-term effects could be,” she said. It’s also unknown how long Raphael was covered in red paint.
In about 10 days, Raphael will be turned over to the FWC and released into an area with other gopher tortoises, Titterington said.
“Like Raphael the ninja turtle, he is strong and a fighter,” she said.
The FWC urges anyone with information about who painted and put concrete on the tortoise to call its Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-3922 or *FWC on a cellphone, or by email to [email protected] Anyone contacting the FWC with a tip can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward.
[email protected]
Copyright [emoji767] 2018, Orlando Sentinel
