Many people in the Coastal Bend may see different things on their daily rides but one Coastal Bend couple said that they saw the unexpected.
According to Virginia Castro and her wife, Gee Castro, they found a tortoise walking down a sidewalk on Preston Street in Corpus Christi.
“Me and my wife were going to work, and we usually take a side street down our neighborhood, and we seen it just walking down the sidewalk," Castro said.
The African spurred tortoise, set out on a mission to explore every nook and cranny of Corpus Christi, but was was picked up by the couple.
They said as soon as they returned home, they placed it in a small pool and poured some water on the tortoise, which had the tip of its mouth sticking out.
“No owner was around, so we brought it home to try and find the owner because I know it belongs to somebody and we just love animals. We’re animal lovers and I know he needs to get back home, so that’s what we’re trying to do," she said.
Castro said that his adventure didn't stop there. She said the tortoise dug himself out the backyard at their Lansdown and Wexford neighborhood home, which caused him to be back on the street again.
“We went to work, left him in our backyard. It’s pretty secure back here, but he escaped and wondered off again, so we had my dad track him down, down the street this way and he brought him back this way,” Castro said.
There's no word yet on where the tortoise came from or who owns it, but his continued disappearance has many many asking, where in the world is that tortoise?
"(I) just want him/her to get back to his or her home," Castro said.
KRIS 6 News reached out to Corpus Christi Animal Care Services.
Joel Skidmore works for Corpus Christi Animal Care Services. He said this is not the first time a tortoise has walked the streets of Corpus Christi.
"You'd actually be surprised how often tortoises get out," Skidmore said. "They're expert diggers, they can be quick when they want to be quick, and when they get out, we get called. It's not often that you see a tortoise walking down the street or someone has a tortoise that enters their yard."
This is the second tortoise in the past month found to be wandering the streets of Corpus Christi.
On September 7, Marmalade the tortoise escaped from his family home on Clare Drive under a fence. The woman who found it posted a photo of him on social media, where the Facebook group Rescues United 361 spread the word. KRIS 6 has reached out to Marmalade's owner to see if Marmalade didn't make another grand escape.
Officials at the Animal Care Services say if you see a tortoise, do not approach it and call 3-1-1.
