OMG TORTOISE.

A tortoise in Hampshire is back on the move after it had its front legs replaced with wheels.

Darren Strand’s shell-wearing pet, Septimus, had his front legs gnawed by rats while it was hibernating in the garden over the winter. When he emerged from his slumber in the spring of 2013 his front feet were so badly injured that they had to be amputated.

The incident served to disprove the misconception popularised by the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle franchise, which suggested that rats and shelled reptiles are close allies. However, this is a story with a Hollywood ending all the same.

Following the amputation of its front legs, an innovative solution has seen the wheels from a model aeroplane attached to the reptile’s underbelly using putty, allowing it roam freely once again, albeit at a typically leisurely pace. It is the first time that wheels have ever been used to replace front legs, with similar such procedures only mounting wheels onto the rear of the tortoise.

Owner Strand, a property developer from Gosport, described his pet as “sprightly and sociable”. He added that with his new wheels, Septimus is “really fast” on freshly cut grass or paths, although Strand neglected to comment on any potential risks the 23-year-old reptile might face should he encounter a steep downward hill.

In his allegorical tale of how the tortoise beat the hare, Aesop never threw in the unexpected plot twist that the reptilian racer was actually on wheels. Nevertheless, this is a story that certainly still inspires the same hope with its similarly compelling and unlikely victory for the underdog.