Natasha, the wandering Russian tortoise, is finally back home, resting peacefully in her hollowed-out log after a refreshing bath and a meal of Romaine lettuce.
Owner Sandie Yeaman expressed her joy on Monday night, saying, “I am so happy. I just cry.”
Yeaman, along with numerous volunteers from all over Omaha, Nebraska, had tirelessly searched for Natasha. The tortoise had escaped from her enclosure and yard on Friday, causing fear that she might wander into a busy street nearby.
Despite being captured three times, Natasha was repeatedly returned to the small lake near her home by well-meaning individuals who thought it was her natural habitat. However, tortoises do not live in the water like turtles.
Yeaman mentioned, “She was spotted twice at Spare Time Bowling at their back door. I know she went there because it smelled good.”
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Friends Sondra Combs and Joyce Roll eventually managed to capture Natasha for good.
Combs decided to join the search spontaneously after reading about Natasha on her neighborhood’s online app and called Roll to assist her at Lakeside Park.
Combs pondered, “What would a tortoise do?” before checking an inlet on the south side of the lake. She initially found no trace of Natasha until she turned back towards the road.
Natasha, who had been missing since Friday, had visibly lost weight. “She was a pretty chubby girl,” owner Sandie Yeaman remarked after the Russian tortoise was found on Monday evening.
“In a bush on the side, she was plainly visible,” Combs recalled. “She was nibbling on a plant stem and just gazed at me.”
Combs hesitated for a moment, unsure whether to call 911 as she didn’t want to touch the tortoise but also didn’t want her to escape.
Roll arrived with an ALDI shopping bag, successfully capturing Natasha and bringing a happy conclusion to her escapade.
Yeaman was informed, and the search team shared a moment of relief and tears.
“The whole experience was incredibly surreal,” she said.
Yeaman was overwhelmed by the dedication of volunteers who assisted in finding her pet of 25 years.
Due to her past efforts in organizing events for memory care patients during Christmas, people were eager to lend a helping hand in her time of need.
Various strategies were employed, including posting signs, flying a drone, and using strawberries to lure Natasha into traps around the lake, containing bits of Romaine lettuce.
“We scattered little pieces like Hansel and Gretel,” Yeaman explained.
One searcher succumbed to the intense heat and had to be checked at CHI Health Lakeside.
Yeaman noted that Natasha was famished when she was finally located.
“Just by looking at her, I can tell she’s lost weight,” Yeaman remarked. “She used to be quite chubby.”
When not monitoring the traps every two hours, Yeaman inspected the holes in both the enclosure and an ivy-covered wall in her backyard where Natasha had managed to escape.
“First thing tomorrow, I’ll be reinforcing her pen and adding a net over the top,” Yeaman vowed. “She will never escape again.”
