These are nearly immortal creatures.
Yeah, so this is apparently a story from 2013, but the Dodo did an update on it this week and I never heard about it, so I had to share.
A Brazilian woman named Nathalye De Almeida had often heard about a beloved tortoise that her mom had when she was a young girl in the 1980s. Her mom was always super sad when she told the story because the tortoise had presumably wandered off and she never saw him again.
That's all it was – just a story – until 2013 when Nathalye's grandpa passed away and they went to his house as a family to gather and clean. When they got to the attic, however, they were beyond shocked to find the tortoise ALIVE.
Flash forward 30 years to 2013. Almeida's grandfather had recently passed away, and her family gathered at her mom's childhood home to sort through his possessions.
Almeida's grandfather had left behind a very cluttered attic, and as the the room was cleared and his things moved out for sorting, someone noticed something odd. There, in the box of an old wooden speaker, was a tortoise whom they recognized.
"We were shocked!" Almeida told The Dodo. "My mom arrived crying because she didn't believe it. They found Manuela!"
Yeah, so "Manuela" the tortoise is actually a dude, so he was quite literally living misgendered in a small Rio attic for three decades and he got enough termite larvae and water to survive.
Nearly 10 years after being found, and 40 years after going missing, Manuela has never been better. (Though, since later being identified as a boy tortoise, he now goes by Manuel.)
Almeida has been caring for him ever since.
"Manuel is doing great. He's grown a lot," Almeida said. "I brought him in to live with me because I have a lot of affection for him."
Here's the little guy recently:
Parents, I guess if you want a pet that can't be killed and that your grandkids can pass down to their grandkids, invest in a tortoise!
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