In 1996 (ish) I was walking through the Botanical Gardens, Broomhill. Just near the lower exit near Ecclesall Road I found a giant tortoise, it was easily 4ft long. It was unreal! It wasnt moving, but it wasnt dead. I went to get my mate and when I got back it had gone!

What??! a 4 foot long tortoise?! Wandering around the Botanical Gardens?! :P But in the days before camera phones - so no picture of it!

Honestly its true! It was huge, I think it would have taken four people to lift it, I `d love to know what it was doing..

Really want to keep this thread going - am so intrigued about the giant tortoise! Someone at least make up a story about it to appease me? Maybe it could start on a hot sunny day as little Jimmy went to awake his favorite pet from hibernation...

...but it was gone. Jimmy searched the kennel but all that remained were a few half-eaten lettuces. Then he noticed a giant totoise-shaped hole in the garden fence....

.... and his skateboard was missing....

Did the giant tortoise have a giant tortoises' head?!? :blush: :clap: :clap:

K x

where is the botanical gardens and is it a zoo or wildlife park or what

Jimmy searched the kennel but all that remained were a few half-eaten lettuces

How long have tortoises lived in kennels?.
Think you getting mixed up with a dog

I have a photo of a dog here (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v689/viking99/Mcwoot030.jpg) to save any confusion. :thumbsup:

Botanical gardens are just off ecclesall and they are gardens with botanics - although there are lots of squirrels. In the wild giant tortoises actually construct their own kennels from mud and twigs. They are known as the achitects of the reptile world.

I remember a story a while back about a giant dog-eating tortoise in a newspaper. It apparently crept up on it's canine enemies and after busting some Jackie Chan / Kung Fu style moves would eat them whole - washing it down with a can of Tizer and then skateboarding off down the road whistling 'there's a place, keeps on calling me . . down the road, thats where I'll always be . . . '

Originally posted by viking
How long have tortoises lived in kennels?.
Think you getting mixed up with a dog
Mr Stix's mum's tortoise lives in a 'kennel' :confused:

Okay, it's a large planter with a tortoise-shaped chunk cut out :D

Originally posted by marcuss
where is the botanical gardens and is it a zoo or wildlife park or what

Near Hunter's Bar, close to the junction between Hunter's Bar and Eccleshall Road.

Saying that.
My dog is quite content in his Hive :hihi:

Originally posted by woofer
I found a giant tortoise, it was easily 4ft long. It was unreal! It wasnt moving

Are you sure it wasn't just a big student poo ?

The wall at the back of my garden is part of the wall that runs around the Botanicals. My boyfriend got me 2 Terrapins for Xmas. Do you think he got them from the Botanicals and the Turtle you saw was actually a Terrapin and i now have its babies? If so will the Giant angry mother come to my house and try to claim her kids back? Im all scared now, dont wanna go home incase she is waiting for me to put me in a pot?!?!

Originally posted by Lestat
Are you sure it wasn't just a big student poo ?

Ugh, do you have to be so disgusting?! :rant:

And STFU about students FFS! They are NOT the scum of the Earth!

Originally posted by woofer
In 1996 (ish) I was walking through the Botanical Gardens, Broomhill. Just near the lower exit near Ecclesall Road I found a giant tortoise, it was easily 4ft long. It was unreal! It wasnt moving, but it wasnt dead. I went to get my mate and when I got back it had gone!

Was it mushroom season when you saw said tortoise??:banana:

Ahhh. he's right - it could have been a giant mushroom, not tortoise.

Originally posted by mjlacey21
Ahhh. he's right - it could have been a giant mushroom, not tortoise.

If thats the case how could it have gone when he went back ?

Students thinking it was a 'Magic mushroom'. LOL:hihi:

sorry Rich - couldn't resist!

Originally posted by nick2
If thats the case how could it have gone when he went back ?

A giant pixie ate it. Shortly after that the giant pixie started seeing a whole load of stuff including a miniature elephant. ;)

that could explain the Sheffield minature elephant scare of '96

yeah, that was quite troublesome.

Originally posted by Andy78
A giant pixie ate it. Shortly after that the giant pixie started seeing a whole load of stuff including a miniature elephant. ;)

Right.

What did Sherlock Holmes say..."When you have eliminated all the sensible theories, whatever is left, no matther how stupid, must be the truth"

he also said 'My dear Watson it is imperative that you join me in this deliciously soapy bath this very instant'

Originally posted by mjlacey21
he also said 'My dear Watson it is imperative that you join me in this deliciously soapy bath this very instant'


Hahahahahahahahahahahahahah.......

hahahahahah.....


That's all I have to say on the matter.

Aggggghhhh !

Vile mental image of Basil Rathbone in bath.

I know in the Botanical Gardens there is a fossilised tree stump, I suppose if you squinted hard or were blind drunk it could resemble a giant tortoise. Also it may not of disappeared when you looked for it again, it may be that you got confused and went to the wrong place, I still struggle sometimes to find the bear pit.

I struggle to find the bear pit too. When i do find it I always think 'why did I want to find the bear pit, it's dull!'

The bear pit is fun if you've got little kids with you as they all seem to want to climb into that little cave in the rear of the enclosure. there agian so do I!! Just wish though they'd put the old gates back on so I could lock the little darlings in there sometimes.

Originally posted by Lestat
I remember a story a while back about a giant dog-eating tortoise in a newspaper. It apparently crept up on it's canine enemies and after busting some Jackie Chan / Kung Fu style moves would eat them whole - washing it down with a can of Tizer and then skateboarding off down the road whistling 'there's a place, keeps on calling me . . down the road, thats where I'll always be . . . '

" im not sure that it would have been tizer though mate, ive seen a few around at the moment with cans of diet coke on their backs 'lovin life'.

Im told by one of our local tortoises that this is the way that all the kids are wearing them nowadays. !!!!!!!!

Sponsorship deals eh!:o . . . I never realised tortoises were into the money game.

Are you sure that it wasn't one of Cooplands' pies? Actually, this is a lovely story. I believe you. You must have been amazed to see such a thing.

The most amazing thing I have ever seen was an escaped Eagle Owl in Nottingham. My wife and I lived in Sherwood between 1991 and 1993. One night we were passing the local hospital, and my wife saw this huge owl perched , staring intently at us. Because of its "stuck up" ears, I wrongly dismissed it as a Long-Eared Owl. My wife corrected me;"Look at the bloody size of it!", as it began to make what appeared to be threatening noises. A few days later, we read in the Evening Post of an Eagle Owl captured in nearby Mapperley. It had attacked a terrified Rottweiler! The owner confirmed how very aggressive they can be. We probably had a lucky escape there. Stick to Giant Tortoises, for God's sake!

Can I just say thanks to the contributors to this thread. There have been a lot of threads getting very heavy lately, it's good to see the forum's not lost it's witty members!:thumbsup:

It could have been an African spur thighed tortoise. They can grow up to 4ft I think and can feasibly be kept as a pet. They tend to like wandering and are better climbers than people realise and can be surprisingly fast when warmed up. Torts regularly escape from gardens and go a wandering. I hope this one made it back home.

It's amazing that the ' tanics have been opened in Sheffield for about 150 years and there's only one of them------yet , there are still people who've no idea where they are ! Says something for people's interest in one of our most beautiful gardens or the effectiveness of the Council's publicity.
I bet everybody knows where the nearest "chipoil' is .

Wow. Not logged on for a while, quite a response. This animal was all there as was my mind. It must have made it home because it had gone when I returned.!

:]

Originally posted by woofer
Wow. Not logged on for a while, quite a response. This animal was all there as was my mind. It must have made it home because it had gone when I returned.!

:]

It might have been my Homing Tortoise. I drop it off all over Sheffield and it takes it about three weeks to get back home.