A Freehold Township family is offering a reward to the person who finds Yohan, an African leopard tortoise who has been missing from the area of Great Bridge Road since July 3. FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP — His name is Yohan and he is missing.
Yohan is an African leopard tortoise who has been the Remdes’ family pet for 16 years. He wandered away from their Freehold Township backyard on Great Bridge Road on July 3 and has not been seen since. The loss has left Jay and Rona Remdes and their three children upset and sad.
“We have been looking for him all summer,” Rona Remdes said, adding that neighbors in the development have also been keeping watch for signs of the 6-inch-high, 12-inch-diameter, 25-pound tortoise.
“He wandered off once or twice before, but was always found,” Remdes said.
The family’s yard has a dirt barrier that normally kept Yohan safely inside the yard, but Remdes said the barrier must have been damaged during a heavy rainstorm. They believe that is how Yohan got out.
Yohan wandered off in 2012 to a street about a half-mile away. Most people think tortoises move very slowly, but according to Rona, Yohan can walk quickly on a hot summer day.
It only took the tortoise about 15 minutes to cover that half-mile last year.
The family is even more worried about Yohan now. It was a hot day when he wandered off on July 3. As summer winds down and the temperature dips, Yohan will be in danger. He cannot survive outdoors in temperatures below 50 degrees.
Fliers and notices have been posted around Freehold Township and on Main Street in Freehold Borough.
Yohan spends his winters indoors in the basement, which is equipped with a heating system and an area of ultraviolet light for him. He spends the spring and summer in the backyard.
Anyone who finds the lost pet is entitled to a $500 reward, according to Rona Remdes, who said the amount of the reward has nothing to do with the monetary value of the tortoise. It has to do with getting the family pet, who is missed by all, back home.
Yohan is unlike other tortoises in that he is “very friendly” and will not “hide” from others.
“He is very alert and will go right up to people,” she said. “Yohan is accustomed to people and is social. He will even run after a ball and play.”
Yohan knows his name and knows who his family is.
“If you clap your hands or give him a piece of lettuce, he will come to you,” she said.
Yohan is an herbivore and eats plant foliage, unlike other types of turtles that may be omnivores and eat animal protein and vegetation.
If anyone finds Yohan, Rona Remdes said that he can be picked up and placed in a large box. He will not bite, since he has no teeth. Anyone with information about Yohan is asked to call 732-252-8500 or 646- 879-9051.