Runaway tortoise home after being found near Christoval

He wasn't exactly speeding, but a giant tortoise caught cruising the highway in Schleicher County spent time in the custody of Texas Game Wardens before being released to his owners. 

Sheila Elrod, 29, of San Angelo was surprised by a phone call from her mother Sunday, Oct. 13, 2019.

"She called and said 'I have a 70-pound tortoise in my truck.'"

Elrod figured her mother must have exaggerated the size and actually found a native tortoise. Texas is home to one of four North American tortoises, aptly named the Texas Tortoise, which has a shell length of about 8½ inches, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife. 

After she arrived at her mother's house, Elrod was encountered by a tortoise with a shell 24 inches long. Elrod identified the shelled wandered as an adult male Sulcata, or African spurred tortoise. The third largest species of its kind in the world, Sulcata tortoises can grow up to 100 pounds, according to the San Diego Zoo.

"We nicknamed him 'Dude,' because he was a big dude," Elrod said.

Elrod's mother had spotted 'Dude' crawling along Toe Nail Trail Road (Ranch to Market Road 2084) and didn't want the tortoise to get hit by a vehicle. With no residences nearby, Elrod's mother hoisted the tortoise into her pickup for safekeeping. 

"I'm glad she picked him up," Elrod said. "It would have been a tragedy for him to be hit by a vehicle — and probably total it."

While her mother contacted Texas game wardens, Elrod fed the tortoise lettuce in a fenced yard and set up a heat lamp to keep the giant reptile warm at night.

"Once the sun went down he parked right under the heat lamp and slept the whole night. He was a great guest," Elrod said.

On Monday, Oct. 14, Texas Game Warden Chris Frey brought the tortoise to a fenced area until its owners could be located, which proved to be more difficult than Frey anticipated.

Turns out, lots of people lose tortoises in West Texas. 

"I had several phone calls from people wondering if it was their tortoise," Frey said. "There are more of these tortoises in Schleicher County than I thought."

Frey said after two days one family was able to positively identify "Dude" who had escaped from his enclosure nearly two weeks ago.

"The tortoise is fine and it's back in their hands, and the family has since fixed the enclosure it escaped from," Frey said.

John Tufts covers enterprise and investigative topics in West Texas. Send him a news tip at JTufts@Gannett.com.  Consider supporting West Texas journalism with a subscription to GoSanAngelo.com.