Missing 2st tortoise returns home to Sutton on Sea

Community spirit in Sutton on Sea has been praised after a missing 25-year-old tortoise returned home.

Bonnie, a leopard tortoise weighing 2st (13kg) disappeared from her pen on Tuesday but reappeared on Saturday.

Lisa Dean from the animal charity Beauty’s Legacy, which works to reunite owners with lost animals, said Bonnie’s owner Liz Curnock was “absolutely thrilled”.

Ms Dean said: “The community spirit in Sutton on Sea is phenomenal. We’ve had people out searching for her, putting posters up. It’s been fantastic.

Leopard tortoises are from Africa. They are the fastest moving breed of tortoise and can sprint at 1km (0.62 mile) per hour.

Ms Dean explained: “They’re still slow, but they’re like the cheetah of tortoises.”

Because Bonnie had returned so full of energy, Ms Dean and Ms Curnock said they think she must have been kept indoors while she was away.

Had she been cold or hungry, they would have expected her to have been lethargic, they said.

“Whether she escaped herself first and someone picked her up, or whether someone actually took her out of the garden, we don't know, but we do think she’s been indoors with someone,” Ms Dean said.

Ms Curnock was said to be relieved and thankful at Bonnie’s return.

“She heard a rustle behind her and she turned around and Bonnie was racing across the garden to her”, Ms Dean said.

“I’m just so glad that whoever had her has put her back and has done the right thing,” she said.

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