Rocket may sound like a funny name for a slow-moving tortoise, but the 90-year-old, 500-pounder is a master escape artist who has broken out of enclosures at two different zoos.
Rocket was one of the first animals at the Sedgwick County Zoo in Kansas when it opened in the early 1970s.“He actually attained a length that could span the length of the bars. He could get his legs over the edge of this and just walk right down,” Rocket’s trainer, Nate Nelson, said.
Nelson said it was impossible to lift Rocket back up when he escaped, so it would take hours to walk him all the way around and back up to his exhibit.“It was difficult, because he’s always been a zoo favorite here, both the keepers and the public. But he was just too big for that indoor exhibit any longer,” Nelson said.
Rocket was shipped off to Tulsa, where he met his new handler, Chris Williams. But it didn’t last long.It was off to “max security” for the 90-year-old tortoise – a brand new, state-of-the-art exhibit at the Bronx Zoo.Nelson is glad he gets to spend every day again with one of his oldest friends. “I don’t think he recognizes me. But it’s hard to say you know, you can’t they don’t really have any facial features,” Nelson said.
Rocket’s new habitat does not have an indoor viewing area, so when winter hits Kansas, giant tortoise fans will have to wait until it warms up to see him again.
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