Skip navigation

Turtle finds romance after getting wheels

10-year-old turtle is able to mate now that she can move around

Video
  Vroom! Tortoise gets wheels
Aug. 19: Zookeepers in Israel give a disabled tortoise a set of wheels to help her get around. TODAY’s Natalie Morales reports.

Today show

Slideshow
Image:
  Animal Tracks
A dog in dreads, two finicky sea turtles, a chilled-out chimp and monkeys and meerkats with pumpkins – find all that and more photos of creatures great and small.

more photos

Video: Weird news
TODAY
Woman takes 950th driver's test, passes
Nov. 9: The TODAY hosts chat about a 68-year-old woman in South Korea who passed her written driver’s test after near-daily attempts since April 2005.

updated 6:45 p.m. ET Aug. 18, 2008

JERUSALEM - Arava the disabled turtle is using her new set of wheels to get around in more ways than one.

Officials at the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo say the 10-year-old spurred tortoise has begun mating since being fitted with a custom skateboard to overcome paralysis of her hind legs.

The 55-pound turtle is unable to move herself forward with her front legs alone. So the zoo's staff built her a metal board with two wheels that can be strapped to her stomach.

Story continues below ↓
advertisement | your ad here

Arava arrived in Jerusalem a few months ago from a petting zoo in southern Israel with the unexplained handicap, and found no reptile romance. Zoo curator Shmulik Yedvad says it's not that Arava has come out of her shell with her unique new wheelchair, but that a particularly amorous 10-year-old male has been after her.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Sponsored LinksGet listed here
Online College Courses
Boost your career with an online Degree. Pick from Leading Colleges!
www.EarnMyDegree.com

Sponsored links

Resource guide