A missing tortoise has been returned to her owners after two years of wandering adventures.
In the spring of 2021, Jemima escaped from the home of Charles Waddell, leaving his eight-year-old daughter Beatrice devastated.
They had given up hope of ever seeing Jemima again – but then they spotted a Facebook post about a tortoise being found and taken to a vet.
After being sent a picture of Jemima, the vet last week confirmed it was her and the family were reunited.
Dad-of-three Charles, a lawyer and university lecturer, said: “We inherited Jemima from my father when he passed away in 2016. She must be around 50. But one day in May 2021 she just managed to get out. They move a lot quicker than you think – she definitely outfoxed us. I don’t know how she’s managed to survive the winters but she does hibernate. She’s obviously managed to keep herself well fed.”
Charles told how the family almost got Jemima back six weeks after she first went missing after an online post said a tortoise had been found half a mile from their home in Haydon Bridge, Northumberland. The finder took her to the nearest house but, as no one was home, they left her in the garden – and she disappeared.
Jemima was later found at an equestrian centre five miles from home.
She is now in a new, more secure pen at home with her tortoise pal Georgina, watched over by Beatrice, now 10, Charles, wife Belinda and their other children Alice, 16, and Charles, 11.
Dad Charles said: “She has certainly been on a real adventure… we’ll be keeping a closer eye on her.”