Tortoises have one of the longest lifespans among the Earth's leaving creatures and can live up to 150 years. Red-footed tortoises, in particular, are native to moderate climates and have a notable ability to adapt to various climates and habitats in captivity.
However, can you believe that one of them managed to live locked up in the storage room for thirty years?
In 1982, a family from Rio de Janeiro was devastated as they could not find their tortoise, Manuela, whom Lionel's daughter, Lenita, got as a childhood pet.
They believed that the pet had crawled into the nearest forest after construction workers at the site left the front door ajar.
Three decades later, in January 2013, after the death of their dad, Lionel Almeida, his kids decided to clean a storage room he kept on the second floor, as the clutter took up useful space.
Lionel's son, Leandro, decided to throw away a box with an old record player. His neighbor jokingly asked whether he meant to do the same with a tortoise that poked out of a hole in the box. Then, Leandro was shocked to see Manuela, alive after 30 years.
In 2013, the story went viral shortly after being revealed. Many were skeptical about its credibility claiming that without food, water, air, and vegetation, a tortoise would not be able to survive.
Jeferson Pires, a vet in Rio de Janeiro, claims that red-footed tortoises are incredibly resilient and can survive for up to three years without food. Of course, Manuela survived for many more years, but, according to Pires, she probably had been feeding on termites from the wooden floors.
Anthony Pilny, a veterinary surgeon, specialized in birds and reptiles at the Center for Avian and Exotic Medicine in New York, explained that wild turtles have reserve fat pads that they use in the case of scarcity of food.
He also noted that they are also able to lower their body temperatures as well as other physiological processes and enter into a state of suspended animation from which they can recover.
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