Look What We Found!

Walking Elvis this morning, he suddenly stopped and looked confused.  This is what he had found, walking in the woods near the house. It (he) is a Hermann Tortoise.  Male (I checked) and roughly (impossible to be accurate) 10-15 years old. They are indigenous to France, but only the South East corner, so he has either been abandoned by someone (unlikely) or escaped, because it would have taken him most of his life to get here!  Vets are all closed apart from emergencies, so we will tortoise-sit for the time being. Did a lot of internet research, so if he is pre-owned he should be chipped. Experimented to see how fast he can move - covered 20 metres in about 15 minutes, so no slouch. Seems healthy, but did not want to eat or drink. Most likely that he escaped from someone reasonably local; we will get him to a vet as soon as we are allowed. We do live in quite an isolated farmhouse, so he may have covered a fair distance.  The woods near us were decimated for wood fire pellets a few weeks ago, so his habitat may have been disturbed. Pending formal investigation, we have decided to call him Shelley.  Comments on a postcard please...........