When Leonardo the tortoise went missing from his home in Cumbria nine months ago, his owners feared the worst.
But the intrepid testudine has been found about a mile from his home in Ulverston – covering the distance at an average pace of 6 metres a day.
Little Beasties Ulverston pet shop revealed on Facebook that the beloved tortoise had been handed in and returned to his owners.
The store posted: “We have some fantastic news. We have found the owner of the tortoise that was handed in at the start of the week. His name is Leonardo.
“He went missing from his home in July last year so has been missing for nine months. His owners searched all over for him but sadly feared the worst when he wasn’t found. They couldn’t believe it when they heard the news and were really pleased he was found safe and healthy.”
The BBC reported that, after a social media campaign, a dog walker had spotted Leonardo walking down a street and taken him to the pet shop, where staff helped track down his owner, Rachel Etches.
Etches told the broadcaster: “It was totally my fault; we were out in the garden, we’d just had our second child, I got a bit distracted and he just wandered off out of our sight.
“He’s led a very comfortable life for 13 years under a heat lamp in my house, so we didn’t think he was going to survive the winter being out for the first time.”
Leonardo reportedly previously escaped a few years ago but was found again a couple of days later.
“They’re very adventurous beings, they always test the boundaries of wherever they’re put,” Etches told the BBC.
Etches believes Leonardo must have gone into hibernation for winter and went on the move again once the weather started to improve.
