Tortoise theft leaves hatchery shell-shocked

LEABURG: “Waldo,” a key attraction on the grounds of the Leaburg Fish Hatchery, has gone missing. Long thought to be one of the offspring of specimens brought back by naturalist Charles Darwin’s historic voyage to the Galápagos Islands, Waldo’s long legs helped him climb some small hills at the Leaburg Hatchery when searching out areas to stretch his neck to eat from shrubs and bushes.

On one of those hills, hatchery staff discovered tracks from a vehicle. They led away from a spot where Waldo liked to rest, submerged in brush to keep warm during springtime’s cool evenings.

At an estimated weight of 650 pounds, the thieves probably couldn’t have carried him very far from the site when nocturnal

Continued On April 1st