Mr. T is a rebel and a trail blazer, but we’re not talking about the Mohawk wearing, gold chain-adorned icon of the '80s. This Mr. T is 30-pound Sulcata tortoise that can’t stay put.
“Tortoises love to wander and if they see an opportunity to wandering, they just take off,” owner Katie Balut said.
Last November, the 13-year-old tortoise apparently got too big for the “shell” of a backyard he was being kept in. Balut said some meter readers broke the back gate, which is when Mr T. made his escape.
Since then, there have been tortoise sightings around the Clearwater neighborhood but he’s been elusive. The family has put up signs, and some neighbors say, they moved him to a nearby park, but Mr. T. couldn’t be found.
Balut said they suspect someone found him and is keeping him as a pet.
“I just hope somebody's taking good care of him and is giving him as much love as he deserves," she said.
Sulcata tortoises can grow to weigh more than 200 pounds and live well over 100 years, so where ever he’s living now, he’s got a lot of life ahead of him.
If you have any information about Mr. T's whereabouts, contact Katie Balut at Katie.Balut@bausch.com.