Where's Tim?

Tuesday 20 June 2023

Tim - an 85-year-old tortoise - has gone missing from her home at Jerbourg, leaving her owner and family very worried about where she may be.

Maggie Talbot-Cull was given Tim when she was five years old.

Her great age means she may be quite street-wise having lived through the Occupation, post-war austerity, the swinging 60s, the yuppy-era, the noughties, and everything in between.

Now, she has taken a wander away from her home at the Jerbourg headland.

Pictured: Maggie Talbot-Cull is keen to find her pet, Tim who despite the name is a female. 

Ms Talbot-Cull told Express she has spent the past four days searching for Tim, along with her family. 

"We've searched and poked around. The grandchildren and I have been looking. She's really gone missing this time," she said. 

Pictured: Tim lives at Seaplane Bungalow, behind the Hotel Jerbourg. With an average speed of 0.2-0.5 km/h tortoises are known to be slow moving but she has been missing for four days with her owner unable to find her despite a number of people looking around their home area.

By coincidence, yesterday's Chamber of Commerce lunch featured a speech by the manager of the GSPCA.

Steve Byrne told the audience that this is prime tortoise season for matine so males sometimes go wandering to look for females.

The GSPCA is the Chamber of Commerce's charity partner.

Ms Talbot-Cull has offered a £100 reward to anyone who helps reunite her with Tim, and she will also donate £100 to the GSPCA. 

Did you know?

• Tortoises are reptiles, of the family Testudinidae (Wikipedia)
• Like their relative the turtle, tortoises have a shell to protect from predation and other threats
• Tortoises can vary in size with some species, such as the Galápagos giant tortoise, growing to more than 1.2 metres (3.9 ft) in length, whereas others like the Speckled cape tortoise have shells that measure only 6.8 centimetres (2.7 in) long - it has not been confirmed which type of tortoise Tim is
• They are usually active during the day and sleep at night, depending on the temperature
• They are generally reclusive 
• Tortoises are the longest-living land animals in the world, although the longest-living species of tortoise is a matter of debate - they may live to over 150 years (making Tim merely middle aged at 85) 
• Tortoises are placid and slow-moving, with an average walking speed of 0.2–0.5 km/h - having been missing for four days, Tim could have covered up to 24km if she walked for 12 hours a day

Pictured top: File image of a tortoise - not Tim.