After over 12 years of captivity, Budzilla "Bud" the Tortoise, attempted to make a valiant escape from a life of confinement in the Shasta-Hanchett neighborhood of San Jose yesterday. The 95-pound African tortoise was spotted on Hanchett Avenue as he lumbered towards emancipation, but his run for freedom was eventually foiled when he stopped in a neighbor's yard to snack on a piece of fruit.
Bud was just four short miles and one airline ticket away from San Jose International Airport when neighbors cornered him in the yard until police could arrive to haul him away. Neighbor Glen Jones identified the reptile as Bud, "belonging" to neighbor Brian McClelland. Bud was returned to his captor, who actually seems like a nice guy, around 8 p.m. yesterday evening.
