He went to shell and back.
A 150-pound tortoise is back at his Tennessee home after being on the crawl for 74 days — a journey that ended less than a mile from where it began.
Solomon the sulcata tortoise somehow escaped his home in Ashland City on June 8 and hit the road, according to reports.
Owner Lynn Cole blanketed the area with hundreds of signs and fliers, raised the alert online and called local zoos and animal groups, but to no avail.
“If you knew the number of searches that were launched by ourselves, and other community groups and individuals,” she told CNN. “He just eluded our ability to spot him.”
Cole told the network that she feared if Solomon wasn’t found soon, he might not last the winter without his heated enclosure at home.
But Solomon, 15, was spotted Thursday grazing near a valley construction site by a passing motorist and his son — less than a mile from home.
The man called Cole, who rushed to bring the runaway reptile home.
“I guess that we will never know the full details of Solomon’s great adventure and how he managed to elude us all for so long,” Cole told Nashville ABC affiliate WKRN.
“No matter his traveled course or intent, thanks to the gentleman and his son who happened to be driving by at that moment, Solomon is now safely at home and, as such, so much joy has been returned to our family.”
Solomon was tired, hungry and covered in mud, but appeared otherwise healthy, according to CNN.
He feasted on a bowl of some of his favorites — broccoli, cauliflower, collard greens, watermelon rinds, bananas and carrots — and has a veterinarian check-up scheduled for Monday as a precaution.
“People are surprised to know that he’s very attached to his humans,” Cole told CNN. “He’s very happy to be home.”
But just in case wanderlust strikes again, Cole said that she’s reinforced Solomon’s enclosure, and has talked to the Nashville Zoo and local rescue groups about fitting him with a GPS tracker.
