Remember a few months ago when I found a baby tortoise just crossing the streets in front of my house?
Well, nobody claimed it (still don't know if it's male or female), so I've decided to keep it and named it "Koopa". I was thinking of "Bowser", but that sounded too masculine, and since I don't know the tortoise's gender yet, I decided to go with the slightly more gender-neutral name. So far, the little fella seems happy and healthy. I've dug a burrow for him in the backyard and everything, and I put up a rubber barrier along the other side of the house to prevent it from going under the gate.
I thought the barrier would be foolproof, but last weekend, I found the tortoise on the other side of the barrier taking a nap. Fortunately, it decided to stop for a rest before sneaking out under the gate. I picked it up and brought it back to the right side of the barrier, and then busted out the camera so that I could hopefully figure out and record how it managed to get over the wall. I didn't think there would be any way for it to accomplish what it did. I wasn't expecting it to think of this...
So yeah, apparently I have a real-life Ninja Turtle living in my backyard. He's gonna be a nightmare when he grows into a teenager...
I've since taped a piece of cardboard along the bottom of the gate so that if the tortoise manages to get over this barrier again, it won't be able to escape under the gate. Although it'll be going into hibernation soon; at which point, I won't have to worry and can think of a more long-term solution.
It is incredibly humbling to be outsmarted by a 3-month-old animal with a brain the size of a piece of rice.