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Wandering Reptiles: Just Visitng

Aired August 22, 2003 - 14:55   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. All that rain in Nevada this week appears to have stirred up more than mud and rocks in the deserts. So don't be surprised if you see some unusual critters in your backyard in those parts of the world.
Denise Roche (ph) of our affiliate KBBC has an example.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I come outside and the thing is frickin' huge.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's the biggest tortoise I've ever seen.

DENISE ROCHE, KBBC CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): His name is Turt Turt (ph), and he's neither wild nor a desert tortoise. What he is is a lost pet, an African spur (ph) tortoise on the move after this week's heavy rains.

MELINDA WINNEY, SOUTHERN NEVADA ENVIRONMENTALIST GROUP: Since water is such a rare resource here in the valley, it makes it very difficult for them to find sources for water. So when it starts raining and it starts cooling, it will bring them out. They can actually smell the rain. So it's bring them out.

ROCHE: Melinda Winney is with Southern Nevada Environmental, a group that specializes in desert tortoises. On this day alone, 13 calls have come in on the hotline of wandering tortoises in need of pickup.

WINNEY: Although we don't recommend people picking up tortoises -- that they should be left alone. If you feel that it's in imminent danger, it might be hit by a car -- we would hate for something to happen that nature. So you can pick it up, just put it in a box, place it in a cool area and call our hotline service.

ROCHE: And that's what neighbors did when they found Turt Turt.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We saw this big yellow thing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They should put him in the sea.

ROCHE: Turns out he lives just a few blocks away, so Southern Environmental will reunite him with his owner.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I like him when he goes in his shell.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I like tortoises because they're cool. They have shells and stuff.

ROCHE: And the need to wander in the rain.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired August 22, 2003 - 14:55   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. All that rain in Nevada this week appears to have stirred up more than mud and rocks in the deserts. So don't be surprised if you see some unusual critters in your backyard in those parts of the world.
Denise Roche (ph) of our affiliate KBBC has an example.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I come outside and the thing is frickin' huge.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's the biggest tortoise I've ever seen.

DENISE ROCHE, KBBC CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): His name is Turt Turt (ph), and he's neither wild nor a desert tortoise. What he is is a lost pet, an African spur (ph) tortoise on the move after this week's heavy rains.

MELINDA WINNEY, SOUTHERN NEVADA ENVIRONMENTALIST GROUP: Since water is such a rare resource here in the valley, it makes it very difficult for them to find sources for water. So when it starts raining and it starts cooling, it will bring them out. They can actually smell the rain. So it's bring them out.

ROCHE: Melinda Winney is with Southern Nevada Environmental, a group that specializes in desert tortoises. On this day alone, 13 calls have come in on the hotline of wandering tortoises in need of pickup.

WINNEY: Although we don't recommend people picking up tortoises -- that they should be left alone. If you feel that it's in imminent danger, it might be hit by a car -- we would hate for something to happen that nature. So you can pick it up, just put it in a box, place it in a cool area and call our hotline service.

ROCHE: And that's what neighbors did when they found Turt Turt.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We saw this big yellow thing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They should put him in the sea.

ROCHE: Turns out he lives just a few blocks away, so Southern Environmental will reunite him with his owner.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I like him when he goes in his shell.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I like tortoises because they're cool. They have shells and stuff.

ROCHE: And the need to wander in the rain.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com