• Please be advised there is a potential issue with DD collections, which may result in an excessive amount being taken. Please read the stickied thread in Fortean Times Magazine > General Discussion, Subs etc

Fortean Headlines

kamalktk

kamalktk

Antediluvian
Joined
Feb 5, 2011
Messages
6,814
The turtle survived being locked in a box for 30 years?

"The family thought the pet had gone missing during electrical work taking place on the home."

And when it was noticed as missing 30 years prior, nobody thought "hey I locked the turtle in a box to keep it out of the way during the construction work"?
 
Mythopoeika

Mythopoeika

I am a meat popsicle
Joined
Sep 18, 2001
Messages
49,583
Location
Inside a starship, watching puny humans from afar
What led them to the conclusion that it had been in the box for 30 years?
Just the fact that it went missing that long ago?
 
Mythopoeika

Mythopoeika

I am a meat popsicle
Joined
Sep 18, 2001
Messages
49,583
Location
Inside a starship, watching puny humans from afar
kesavaross said:
So the tortoise survived for 30 years in a locked storage box by eating termite larvae found in the same room?
Click to expand...
I'd be a bit cautious, walking around up in that loft, considering that there were so many termites.
There wouldn't be much structural wood left.
 
kamalktk

kamalktk

Antediluvian
Joined
Feb 5, 2011
Messages
6,814
Mythopoeika said:
What led them to the conclusion that it had been in the box for 30 years?
Just the fact that it went missing that long ago?
Click to expand...
It was found in a locked box according to the report.

" the animal had managed to find a way to survive more than three decades locked inside a storage box, according to Mirror Online."

Presumably it didnt lock itself in there, and no one had seen it for 30 years...
 
Mythopoeika

Mythopoeika

I am a meat popsicle
Joined
Sep 18, 2001
Messages
49,583
Location
Inside a starship, watching puny humans from afar
My thinking is that a family member found it and cared for it up in the loft and then for some reason, left it there for a couple of years. Perhaps that family member died, hence the neglect.
I can't think that even a tortoise could go without drinking water for 30 years. It's just an impossibility.
 
EnolaGaia

EnolaGaia

I knew the job was dangerous when I took it ...
(ACCOUNT RETIRED)
Joined
Jul 19, 2004
Messages
29,625
Location
Out of Bounds
Mythopoeika said:
What led them to the conclusion that it had been in the box for 30 years?
Just the fact that it went missing that long ago?
Click to expand...

Journalistic license (to print BS) ...

The current tabloid articles do a good job of blurring facts. Unless you read all of them, and read certain ones closely, you might miss the fact the tortoise was found in 2013 and the current articles are just updates.

You might also miss the clues that all this happened in Brazil.

It seems the article from which the tabloids obtained their mixed-up accounts can be traced back to a 20 May article at The Dodo (an animal news site):

https://www.thedodo.com/daily-dodo/...-in-attic-30-years-later-still-alive-and-well

If you check this (probably) original source you'll find there's no mention of a locked box. The tortoise was found "in the box of an old wooden speaker" (i.e., in a speaker casing among all the junk in the attic), and it had apparently survived for 3 decades in the "storage space" (i.e., the overall attic).

None of the articles offer an explanation for how the tortoise obtained water - something more immediately critical than food.
 
Last edited:
Trevp666

Trevp666

Don't blame me - I didn't cook it.
Joined
May 29, 2009
Messages
10,719
Location
Flitwick, Bedfordshire, 1874
Mythopoeika said:
What led them to the conclusion that it had been in the box for 30 years?
Just the fact that it went missing that long ago?
Click to expand...
During that time the tortoise had learned English from the newspaper bedding in the box and when it was found it said, in a squeaky little tortoise voice "30 bloody years you left me in there!!!"
 
Mythopoeika

Mythopoeika

I am a meat popsicle
Joined
Sep 18, 2001
Messages
49,583
Location
Inside a starship, watching puny humans from afar
Trevp666 said:
During that time the tortoise had learned English from the newspaper bedding in the box and when it was found it said, in a squeaky little tortoise voice "30 bloody years you left me in there!!!"
Click to expand...
Was there also a very large rat nearby, and a pipe leaking toxic waste onto the floor? A pile of old pizza boxes?
 
Mikefule

Mikefule

Justified & Ancient
Joined
Dec 9, 2009
Messages
1,109
Location
Lincolnshire UK
Trevp666 said:
You're getting your tortoises mixed up with your turtles.
Click to expand...
British English: a tortoise is solely a land animal, and turtles breed on land but spend most of their lives in water.

American English: a turtle refers also to what the Brits call a tortoise.

Hence the Eddie Cochran song lyric, "Just like that old story, about the turtle and the hare, when Dan crossed over that finish line, he found Shorty waiting there." (Cut Across Shorty.)

Also, the delightful American expression, a "post turtle", used to describe someone who is useless in an elevated position like a politician or incompetent business director. He's like a turtle on a fence post: he doesn't know how he got up there, why he's up there, or what he's going to do now he's up there."
 
Trevp666

Trevp666

Don't blame me - I didn't cook it.
Joined
May 29, 2009
Messages
10,719
Location
Flitwick, Bedfordshire, 1874
So what do you call a Giant Tortoise in America? A Giant Turtle? Surely not?
And how would that differ from an actual giant turtle that is already big?
Cos if I ask google for a picture of a giant tortoise I get many, but they are all actual giant tortoises. A giant turtle only appears if I specifically search for that term. The two creatures are quite significantly different. (see the 2 pics below)
I'm confused now.
Are we absolutely certain that this isn't just an example of 'American English' simply being 'English' but mis-used?
I'm not trying to be pejorative in any way here, just wondering.

A Giant Tortoise.
1654434686553.png

A Giant Turtle.
1654434958430.png
 
brownmane

brownmane

off kilter
Joined
Feb 1, 2019
Messages
3,302
Location
Ontario, Canada
Trevp666 said:
So what do you call a Giant Tortoise in America? A Giant Turtle? Surely not?
And how would that differ from an actual giant turtle that is already big?
Cos if I ask google for a picture of a giant tortoise I get many, but they are all actual giant tortoises. A giant turtle only appears if I specifically search for that term. The two creatures are quite significantly different. (see the 2 pics below)
I'm confused now.
Are we absolutely certain that this isn't just an example of 'American English' simply being 'English' but mis-used?
I'm not trying to be pejorative in any way here, just wondering.

A Giant Tortoise.
View attachment 55861
A Giant Turtle.
View attachment 55862
Click to expand...
I do think there is a zoological difference between turtles and tortoises, but don't know specifically what. I always thought tortoises were larger and land only animals, whereas, turtles can spend time on land and water - as in Trev's pic, the sea turtle has flippers and swims. I think the way their shells are situated on their bodies in relation to their head and limbs also determine if they are a turtle or tortoise. I could also be talking out of my a**.:dunno:
 
E

Endlessly Amazed

Endlessly, you know, amazed
Joined
Aug 6, 2020
Messages
1,378
Location
Arizona, USA
Some of my fellow citizens call land-turtles turtles (technically correct as all tortoises are turtles), others call them tortoises (correct and more specific in differentiating from aquatic turtles), others (incorrect) call them terrapins. I think it depends on the part of the country and one's heritage. And, of course, how one prepares and eats the animal. So, I can see a tortoise, turtle, or terrapin wandering around, but once I decide to catch, kill, cook, and eat it, it is termed a turtle - at least in the region where I was raised.

Here in the hot desert of central Arizona, a few people quietly breed endangered giant tortoises to increase both the numbers and the genetic diversity; the breeders coordinate with wildlife specialists and zoos. Occasionally one of these massive creatures escapes and wanders down the road. More people keep giant African tortoises as pets, and they also get loose and sprint at 0.05 mph down the road.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top