What Happened

Rex, the tortoise, Westfall's home, who fostered searched , in Scottsdale, Arizona. Adriana Zehbrauskas for NPR/57999420m hide caption

The giant sulcata tortoise came lumbering down a suburban Phoenix street one recent spring evening. A gaggle of dumbfounded neighbors milled about him. I .

Questions swirled. ? ? Was he hungry? Thirsty? Tired?

a group of neighbors watches. Alina Hartounian/NPR hide caption

Why It Matters

His unlikely stroll down a sidewalk stirred the neighborhood into a motion a multi-pronged effort owners. But, a fun commotion on a Tuesday night, Rex's daring getaway challenging owning a sulcata tortoise can be, even though widespread that sulcata ownership featured as a punchline in a Saturday Night Live sketch.

newborn African spurred tortoise (Centrochelys Sulcata) , in Guadalajara, Mexico, Jalisco state, on May 17, 2018. Ulises Ruiz/ caption

"They', you can't help but [say] 'Oh, I ,'" said Dan Marchand, founder of the Phoenix Herpetological Sanctuary. "'t take long before it's . It's tearing up your garden. It's knocking over furniture."

, but African sulcatas -largest tortoise . The U.S. banned their importation 2000s, but breeding remains legal. 200 pounds 150 years. Rex himself a couple feet long. , plastic pet carriers. But they require large, grassy outdoor enclosures , access , warm shelter during winter months. And they're diggers. But many people don't tortoises. They' novelties at reptile little information require, Marchand said.

What Comes Next

" homework and you're prepared , a fantastic pet. prepared," he said.

Marchand should know. His sanctuary 700 of the gentle giants. They arrived 20 years. , found wandering the streets and turned sanctuary. behind in backyards for new homeowners who never wanted a colossal reptile. Others just became owners to handle.

"They're not destructive by nature, but they', they don't realize how strong they are. They don't go around anything. through it. So they become a little destructive," Marchand said.

Eclecteri Tortoise & Reptile Rescue/Sanctuary, Grande, Ariz., takes in roughly 1,250 sulcatas a year and refers at least another 1,000 to other rescues, Boyungs.

Unlike desert tortoises, which are native to the U.S., "there's no government or county support for this species private rescues inundated each year," Facebook chat. "Arizona is ground climate allows ground hatch easily and each female can have 60+ babies a year."

overwhelming majority of the abandoned tortoises come from people 't anymore.

Rex very easily surrendered tortoises. But he lucked into a neighborhood fully invested .

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