Escaped tortoise found two weeks later, 164 feet from zoo

Aug. 16 (UPI) -- A giant tortoise that escaped from a zoo in Japan has been found by a family two weeks later, about 500 feet from her enclosure.

The Shibukawa Animal Park in Tamano, Okayama Prefecture, said the female Aldabra giant tortoise, named Abu, was found by a father and his teenage son about 2 p.m. Wednesday on top of a steep slopein a wooded area about 164 feet from the zoo's entrance.

The location was about 500 feet from the tortoise enclosure where Abu escaped Aug. 1.

The zoo said the father and son will receive the promised $4,500 reward officials offered for information about the missing animal's whereabouts.

"I feel relieved. From now on, we'll make sure to take perfect care of our animals," zookeeper Yoshimi Yamane told The Japan Times.

Yamane said the tortoise was found uninjured and healthy.

She said the tortoise "is now being given plenty of food to eat."

Another zookeeper at the facility suggested Abu may have taken a longer journey than her location Wednesday might imply.

"She might have climbed a mountain, making a big detour," the keeper told The Asahi Shimbun.