A long story, but stick with it. It started simply enough. I was contently gardening at the front of the house, when two of our neighbours pulled up, on their way home from a walk in one of the greener parts of Leicester, where their attention was drawn to a tortoise, wriggling in the slimy mud by a river. Our neighbours rescued the tortoise, which was now nestling cosily on a lap in a warm van. They weren’t sure what they were going to do with the tortoise, and I suggested an internet search of images of tortoises and terrapins. It didn’t look very tortoise-like to me. I updated
@shepherdmanswife on the local gossip as I carried a tub of weeds to the compost heap, and was greeted with an exclamation that she’s always wanted a tortoise (thankfully not easily purchased these days) and she was off down the Lane, returning a few minutes later, tortoise in hand. It didn’t take much Googling to discover that
@shepherdmanswife was now the proud owner of a red eared slider terrapin, not a tortoise as desired.
@shepherdmanswife briefly suggested releasing it into our local river, but I pointed out that this would not be good for the local aquatic life, and in any case would probably be illegal. Back onto Google, and after a few phone calls, we not only found someone who rescues reptiles, but found that he actually lived in our village. Result. We delivered the terrapin, who would reside in a heated outdoor pool with several mates, and it transpired that this chap is fully licenced to rescue a variety of native and non-native wild animals, using them for educational demonstrations at schools, charities and at parties. Most animals are kept in a building a few miles away, but some were in his back garden where we were introduced to racoons, meerkats, a potbellied pig, an orphan lamb, and a tame red fox, domestically bred as a pet. Presumably whoever bred him didn’t realise that there is a limited market for foxes. Most of the animals were used to being handled, but I should have listened to the reason that one meekat was left in a cage – a hormonal female in a bad mood. I stroked her through the bars, and she sank her gnashers into my knuckle. Having been patched up, we took our leave, but not before making booking for some snakes, exotic insects, meerkats and maybe a fox to make a brief appearance at a family party in June. Shhhh…….don’t tell the children.
