"Heidi" ran away

Half the country is looking for “fugitive” tortoise

The reptile has the telephone number of its previous owner on its shell.(Bild: zVg)

Broad-shelled tortoise "Heidi" would probably be every law enforcement officer's nightmare, because not even a 60-centimetre-high fence could stop the adventurous reptile. On Facebook, her owner asks for help in the search and goes viral.

They are not exactly considered escape animals, yet broad-shelled tortoise "Heidi" in Schönau im Mühlkreis managed to get over a 60-centimeter-high fence and run away. On Facebook, her owner Franz Aumayer is asking for help in the search. His post has been shared 315 times so far, and people are even searching for the reptile in Germany.

Heidi" is actually a male. But by the time people realized this, she had already been given the name.

Franz Aumayer, Besitzer von „Heidi“

Yet "Heidi" had only arrived in the Mühlviertel from Vienna around a week ago and got on well with the other turtles at Aumayer. The fact that she managed to get over the fence could be down to her "escape experience". "She has escaped a few times, which is why she has her previous owner's phone number on her shell," says the animal lover.

Postman delivered reptile
But how far can a tortoise get? "One of our Greek tortoises has already escaped several times and has even spent the winter outdoors twice. In May, the postman brought it back to us. It was about two kilometers away from home," smiles Aumayer.