Massive pet tortoise returned home after found by Cal Fire San Diego
SAN DIEGO — Local firefighters reunited a family with a beloved pet tortoise that had “run” away from home over a month ago after stumbling upon him while doing routine fire mitigation work in East County.
The massive, 150-pound reptile, named “Mr. T,” was discovered by Cal Fire San Diego crews who were completing fuel reduction work near the Hollenbeck Canyon Wildlife area.
In a post to Instagram on Saturday, Cal Fire said a fuels crew equipment operator carried Mr. T to one of their trucks, a Dozer Tender 3344. The tortoise was then driven to a nearby fire house, where crews were able to reconnect him with his owners via flyers the family had posted.
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“Mr. T’s owners were thrilled to see him again as they have owned him for about 20 years, since the size of a hand,” Cal Fire said in the post. “We are so grateful for the opportunity to reunite him with his family after his slow paced adventure!”
A video of the tortoise in the Cal Fire truck can be found in the player below.
Surprisingly, Cal Fire has had a bit of experience handling tortoise rescues over the years, with a handful of incidents where crews were called after residents — both in San Diego County and throughout the state — came across wayward reptiles.
In 2020, a Cal Fire rescue made national headlines when a 95-pound tortoise, named “Highway Pete,” was picked up by crews with the Tuolumne-Calaveras Unit after he was found injured near Highway 49 in Northern California.
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