“Following an intrusion last night, the zoo will be closed this morning”. It is by this message that the city of Lille communicated, Sunday morning, on the night flight of four Greek tortoises in its zoological park. The site finally reopened its doors around 11 a.m., “the time to make the necessary checks to guarantee the safety of the public and the animals”, underlined the city.
Theft of protected species
The turtles, which can each weigh up to 4 kg, were probably taken out of their enclosure to be stolen. The city of Lille has announced its intention to file a complaint for theft of protected species.
In 2020, a nocturnal intrusion of the same kind had already been suspected when noting footprints, one morning, in the enclosure of the meerkats, according The voice of the North. A baby meerkat, born the day before the incident, had disappeared. However, the hypothesis of a theft had never been 100% confirmed. The small animal had perhaps been killed by its congeners that they considered it non-viable.