Huge Tortoise Called Millennium Stolen From Queens Wildlife Center, NYPD Says

DOUGLASTON, QUEENS — A 95 pound tortoise named Millennium has been stolen from a Queens wildlife center.

The reptile disappeared on July 17 from the Alley Pond Environmental Center in Douglaston, the facility's coordinator Venus Hall told Patch. A groundkeeper checked on the enclosed garden area where the tortoise lived and found the surrounding fence had been forced open, she said.

Someone had snipped away the fencing from the post, and the groundskeeper found shoe tracks inside the enclosed area, Hall says. The NYPD confirmed they were looking into Millennium's disappearance.

“We named him ‘Millennium’ because was born in 2000, but everyone thinks it’s because he’s 100 [years old],” said Hall.

The 17-year-old tortoise was brought to the center in 2005 as a rescue and shared a garden home with another African spurred tortoise named Mini Me. According to Hall, Millennium is three times larger than his roommate.

“Generally, it would be very difficult for one person to carry [Millennium] anywhere,” said Hall.

“One person can lift him — dead weight — but it’s almost impossible to lift him above waist level. We usually just let him move on his own.”

Millennium is one of the center’s favorite animals, Hall told Patch, and staff members are upset about the disappearance.

Image Used With Permission of Alley Pond Environmental Center/Facebook