Family discover missing pet tortoise in locked store room THIRTY YEARS after she vanished... and she's still alive

Manuela disappeared from her home in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1982

Found when owners finally cleared out store room after father died



Vet believes she survived by eating termites from the wooden floors

A family found their missing pet tortoise in a store room more than 30 years after they lost her, it was reported today.

Manuela disappeared from her home in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1982 and despite a lengthy search was never seen again.

Her owners, the Almeida family, assumed she had run away after builders working on the house left the front door open.

Turtle-ly delighted: The Almeida family plays with their pet tortoise Manuela 30 years after she disappeared from their home in Rio de Janeiro

It was only after their father Leonel died earlier this month that the Almeida children began clearing out a second-floor room which he had filled with broken electrical items and always kept locked.

Leonel's son, Leandro, said he was astonished to find Manuela alive inside a box containing an old record player.

He told Brazil's Globo G1 website said: 'I put the box on the pavement for the rubbish men to collect, and a neighbour said, "you're not throwing out the turtle as well are you?"

'I looked and saw her. At that moment, I turned white, I just couldn't believe what I was seeing.'

Alone time: Manuela was finally discovered alive inside a box containing an old record player when the family decided to clear out a locked store room (above)

RED-FOOTED TORTOISES CAN LIVE FOR THREE YEARS WITHOUT FOOD

Red-footed tortoises are popular pets in South America because they are relatively inexpensive and have interesting personalities. In the wild, they mainly live in dry forest areas and grasslands and feed on fruit, leaves, dead animals and even faeces. They have a life expectancy of around 50 years. As pets, it is recommended that they are housed outdoors when conditions allow. They are particularly resilient as they can survive for up to three years without food. But they are also at risk from humans as the species is considered a delicacy in many cities of South America.



Daughter Lenita, who had been given the tortoise as a childhood pet, said: 'Everything my father thought he could fix, he picked up and brought home.

'If he found an old television he thought he might be able to use a part of it to fix another one in the future, so he just kept accumulating things. We never dared go inside that room.

'We're all thrilled to have Manuela back.



'But no-one can understand how she managed to survive for 30 years in there, it's just unbelievable.'

Rio de Janeiro vet Jeferson Pires explained that Manuela's red-footed species of tortoise, can go for long periods without eating.

He said: 'They are particularly resilient and can survive for two to three years without food. In the wild they eat fruit, leaves, dead animals, even faeces.'