Family’s missing pet tortoise found in storeroom 30 years later

Manuela lived hidden in a store room for 30 years.

She lived among broken electronic junk and she may have survived by eating termites. No, this isn't the story of a social recluse because Manuela is a tortoise discovered by her family more than 30 years after she went missing, according to the Daily Mail.

[ Related: Turtle trapped in frozen puddle rescued by Scottish student ]

In 1982, builders conducting repairs on a house in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, that belonged to the Almeida family, left the front door open. The Almeidas could not find the family tortoise that day and never saw it again, until this month. After the father, Leonel, died, his wife and children began sorting through his possessions.

The Mail reports the family began cleaning out a storage room Leonel had used to store broken electronics and what do you know, there was a tortoise living inside a box with a record player.

Leonel's son, Leandro, reportedly threw put the box onto the side of the road for garbage collection, when a neighbour pointed out he was disposing of a live tortoise. The family members told local news they were thrilled to have their pet back.

[ More Buzz: Final tribute to U.S. man includes funeral procession through Burger King ]

They might never solve the mystery of the pet's survival but experts say red-footed tortoises are resilient creatures. Tortoises like Manuela will eat a large variety of food, including any bug they can find, according to the website redfoottortoise.com.