Folkmanis Puppet Tortoise

Is this Tortoise looking for a hare to race? This silk-screened, suede-cloth puppet is just one step away from nature. Head & front legs articulate or retract into shell completely.

Movable head, arms and legs. Pulls into shell

FACTS OF INTEREST

• The 41 species of tortoise live on land in warm areas of the world. The smallest are four inches across, and the biggest are four feet across.
• Because their shells protect them so well against enemies, tortoises are slow movers. The desert tortoise walks one mile in nine hours.
• Tortoises are very long-lived. Many can live to be 100 years old; some can probably live to be 200.
• Sixteen out of eighteen species of Giant tortoise are already extinct and many others are endangered. Tortoises need protection to survive.

This 13-inch-long tortoise puppet has a soft green reptilian body, gleaming brown eyes, and a smooth, beige suede tortoise shell. With your help, Tortoise can creep along at her leisurely pace (about a mile every 9 hours, according to the tortoise fact sheet printed on her label), or, if she senses danger, quickly retract her head and front legs into her shell, a skill which makes her particularly well-suited for games of peekaboo. A mature and sage-looking creature, Tortoise makes a terrific trouper for your puppet show, or simply a fun take-along friend (talk to her in the car, she's a great listener). Be sure to check out Tortoise's label for fascinating facts about tortoises as well as the Hottentot version of the famous "Tortoise and the Hare" folktale. --Elisabeth Fredrickson