Do you remember Tiptoe, the African sulcata tortoise, who often goes viral on social media?
While, the wildfires were causing destruction and everyone was panicking at that time, the huge tortoise was calmly eating grass, even though dark smoke was rising behind him.
Tiptoe’s owner, Caitlin Doran took 175-pound tortoise because she realized that it was time to leave because the fire was getting closer.
To keep him safe and comfortable during the escape, she covered him with blankets and fed him bell peppers.
Tiptoe has been a well-known and loved figure in Pacific Palisades. He would stroll along the sidewalks with Caitlin and sometimes enjoy eating roses, which he liked the most, as per NPR.
Caitlin said in an interview with NPR on Monday, "People will grow vegetables for him. They grow flowers for him. When their grandkids are in town, they'll come over and check Tiptoe out.”
Caitlin’s family and friends also lost their homes in the fire, and they are now together, figuring out what to do next, dealing with insurance forms and planning how to rebuild.
Tiptoe was a Christmas gift for Caitlin when she was 7 years old, and at that time, he was very tiny, about the size of a credit card.
Over the years, Tiptoe lived in the backyard of Caitlin’s childhood home in Pacific Palisades.
However, that home, along with a hutch built for Tiptoe by Caitlin and her family was destroyed due to wildfire.
Now, Tiptoe has moved to Caitlin’s new home in Marina del Rey.
He is the largest mainland tortoise in the world and only two species of island tortoises are larger, one of which Charles Darwin famously rode on the Galapagos Islands.
