2 critically endangered tortoises stolen from Indianapolis Zoo 'safely recovered'

Two critically endangered tortoises reported stolen from the Indianapolis Zoo have been safely recovered, zoo officials announced Tuesday.

"We are thrilled to announce the two missing tortoises have been safely recovered by local law enforcement and are on their way back home to the Zoo," the Indianapolis Zoo posted on its Instagram account on Tuesday evening.

According to the Pendleton Police Department, at approximately 4:00 p.m., they received a call from park visitors who, while walking on a sidewalk behind the park's museum, near the falls, came across an unattended cardboard box.

The box was said to have had a paper plate on top with a note referencing the Indianapolis Zoo. Inside, the visitors found the two tortoises and immediately called police, who arrived within minutes and took custody of them.

"The tortoises were later positively identified as the two reported stolen after having their microchips scanned by Zoo personnel," according to a statement from the Pendleton Police Department.

Indiana State Police said Monday they were seeking the public's help in locating the reptiles following the theft earlier this month after the critically endangered Egyptian tortoise and the northern spider tortoise were stolen sometime between 10 a.m. on Oct. 11 and 10 a.m. on Oct. 12, police said.

Both tortoises were microchipped and the Egyptian tortoise was said to have a prominent scar on its underside, Indiana State Police said in a press release.

The two species are listed as critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species.

Assisting the Capitol Police in the recovery and subsequent on-going investigation are the Pendleton Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation, United States Department of Agriculture-Office of Inspector General and the Indianapolis Zoo, police said.

Currently, this incident remains under investigation and police will release more information when it becomes available.