Massive Tortoise Stolen In New York Recovered In Fairfield

FAIRFIELD, CT — The case of a missing massive tortoise stolen out of an environmental center in Queens, New York, last week has been solved after it was recovered in Fairfield. The NYPD 111th Precinct announced on Twitter Tuesday that Millennium, a 90-pound African spurred tortoise, has been safely returned to the Ally Pond Environmental Center in Queens. Millennium had been stolen from the Alley Pond Environmental Center on July 17, according to multiple reports, including the New York Post.

The New York Post reports that authorities received an anonymous call around 7 p.m. Monday from a man who said he was in possession of Millennium. He had been contacted by a man who wanted to trade the 90-pound tortoise for his musk turtle at a train station in Fairfield, according to the Post.

However, after making the swap, the man saw a news report that led him to believe his new tortoise may have been stolen and he contacted authorities, according to the New York Daily News. (To sign up for Fairfield breaking news alerts and more, click here.)

“We were ecstatic,” Alley Pond Coordinator Venus Hall told Patch regarding staff members’ reaction to the news of Millennium’s discovery. “It’s such a relief because people have really been missing him, asking daily, ‘any news yet, any news yet?’”

“We were just hoping that, wherever he was, they were taking good care of him.”

When the center first received the call from police that the tortoise had been found, Hall said staff wanted to be sure that it was, in fact, Millennium, as there had been “quite a few” sightings that people believed to be the missing animal.

“He seems to be doing well. (He) looks to be in good health, and he’s eating, which is always a bonus,” said Hall.

Part of the beauty of Millennium’s return, according to Hall, is that the tortoise has been reunited with his favorite pal, Mini Me, another — but three times smaller — African spurred tortoise. The two shared a celebratory tray of lettuce and carrots.

“We put (Millennium) and Mini Me inside the enclosure together, and at first, they were very still, sitting in separate corners. But then,” Hall said, “they turned toward each other, started smelling each other and then reconnected like no time has even passed.”

Hall told Patch that Alley Pond staff members are thankful for all the people who looked out for Millennium while the tortoise was missing, no matter how big or small the contribution.

“We really want to thank the detectives at the 111th Precinct. Sometimes, police get a call on a missing animal and no one takes it seriously, but they treated this as real detectives should,” said Hall.

“We really appreciate the work that they did. We can’t thank them enough.”

Investigation into the theft is ongoing.

With reporting by Chloe Morales (Patch Staff)

Photo via NYPD 111th Precinct on Twitter