Tortoise Stolen From Queens Wildlife Center Found In Connecticut

DOUGLASTON, QUEENS —

Millennium, the beloved African spurred tortoise of Alley Pond Environmental Center, has been safely returned to his garden home at the center after being stolen from his enclosure July 17, Alley Pond coordinator Venus Hall told Patch. (For more information on this and other neighborhood stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

Police say they received a call July 24 around 7 p.m. from someone who had purchased Millennium in exchange for another tortoise, reporting the exchange to NYPD upon realizing it could be the missing reptile.

“We were ecstatic,” said Hall regarding staff members’ reaction to the news of Millennium’s discovery. “It’s such a relief because people have really been missing him, asking daily, ‘any news yet, any news yet?’”

“We were just hoping that, wherever he was, they were taking good care of him.”

When the center first received the call from police that the tortoise had been found, Hall said staff wanted to be sure that it was, in fact, Millennium, as there had been “quite a few” sightings that people believed to be the missing animal.

“He seems to be doing well. [He] looks to be in good health and he’s eating, which is always a bonus,” said Hall.

Part of the beauty of Millennium’s return, according to Hall, is that the tortoise has been reunited with his favorite pal, Mini Me, another — but three times smaller — African spurred tortoise. The two shared a celebratory tray of lettuce and carrots.

“We put [Millennium] and Mini Me inside the enclosure together, and at first, they were very still, sitting in separate corners. But then,” Hall said, “they turned toward each other, started smelling each other and then reconnected like no time had even passed.”

Hall told Patch that Alley Pond staff members are thankful for all the people who looked out for Millennium while the tortoise was missing, no matter how big or small the contribution.

“We really want to thank the detectives at the 111th Precinct. Sometimes, police get a call on a missing animal and no one takes it seriously, but they treated this as real detectives should,” said Hall.

“We really appreciate the work that they did. We can’t thank them enough.”

Investigation into the theft is ongoing.

Image via Pixabay