A pet tortoise who disappeared in 1982 was found 30 years later - alive and well in the loft of the family home.
The tortoise, named Manuela, belonged to Nathalye De Almedia’s mum who bought her in the early 1980s.
Nathalye had read up on the mysterious creature, however, she was told he had disappeared when his mum was eight. The family thought the pet had gone missing during electrical work taking place on the home.
Yet three decades later, after the woman’s husband had died, the family went to the house to clear out his belongings, reports Daily Star. To their amazement they were sorting through the attic, they were shocked by what they found in a box with an old wooden speaker inside.
“We were shocked!” Almeida told The Dodo in 2013. My mom arrived crying because she didn’t believe it - they found Manuela!”
Despite all the odds, the animal had managed to find a way to survive more than three decades locked inside a storage box, according to Mirror Online.
It was thought that she had managed to survive from eating termite larvae, which were also found in the room.
However, nearly 10 years later, in an update on the story, it turns out that Manuela is still alive – but is now called Manuel, as it turned out during a routine veterinary check-up this year that the plucky tortoise is actually male.
A tortoise can live to 255 years old, and can survive for about three years without food and water.
The world’s oldest tortoise is called Jonathan - a Seychelles giant tortoise, currently living on the South Atlantic Island of St Helena.
He is 180 years old, and first arrived ion the island as a gift to Sir William Grey-Wilson in 1882, who would later become the Governor of the island.
However, his vet Joe Hollins said in March: ““To be honest, I suspect he’s older, but we can never know.”
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