sputnik
03-14-2005, 08:43 PM
At first, Terri Smith thought it was just an oversized rock that attracted her dog's attention. Then the rock moved.
Smith found a giant tortoise, weighing some 60 to 70 pounds, trying to burrow into the dirt an unlikely visitor to Wyoming.
The state Game and Fish Department said they'd send someone out Wednesday to examine the animal, and told Smith it was probably a desert tortoise, a species native to the Southwest.
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"I don't know if someone dropped him off or if he got lost," Smith said. "I couldn't just leave him there."
Smith's husband, Ken Smith, brought the tortoise back to their home until Game and Fish could examine it.
Terri said she was told by someone at Game and Fish to count the rings on the shell to determine the age. She guesses the animal is 130 to 133 years old.
The couple joked that Turtle had found a turtle. "My father nicknamed me Turtle as a young girl," Terri said, "because I move like a turtle."
Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=543909
Smith found a giant tortoise, weighing some 60 to 70 pounds, trying to burrow into the dirt an unlikely visitor to Wyoming.
The state Game and Fish Department said they'd send someone out Wednesday to examine the animal, and told Smith it was probably a desert tortoise, a species native to the Southwest.
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"I don't know if someone dropped him off or if he got lost," Smith said. "I couldn't just leave him there."
Smith's husband, Ken Smith, brought the tortoise back to their home until Game and Fish could examine it.
Terri said she was told by someone at Game and Fish to count the rings on the shell to determine the age. She guesses the animal is 130 to 133 years old.
The couple joked that Turtle had found a turtle. "My father nicknamed me Turtle as a young girl," Terri said, "because I move like a turtle."
Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=543909