Heart of England Sixth Form had a special visit this week from pet tortoise Tariq.
Tariq was brought into school for the day by Mr Mahmood and was looked after by a small group of his tutees and law students.
First seen inside during a lesson, Tariq certainly seemed to make himself at home, moving about with surprising speed on the floor whilst student worked during a law lesson.
Later at break time, Tariq was let loose in the Sixth Form garden by his carers and set about walking here and there exploring his surroundings in a calm and determined manner. He was also treated to a lunch of romaine lettuce and lovely fresh strawberries which he seemed to enjoy with great relish. Apparently, he also enjoys watermelon.
Our reptile visitor certainly seems to have plenty of personality and one of the students commented on that saying, “he’s exactly like Mr Mahmood!”
Tariq is 20 years old, making him older than every student currently at Heart of England. “We’ve had him since he was a month old,” said Mr Mahmood. “We got him for our daughter when she was six after she won a national writing competition. It was story about a tortoise called Tariq who woke up in the middle of the night and ventured away from its parents onto a wild adventure.”
Tortoises of Tariq’s species usually live for between 50-80 years so Tariq is getting on but hopefully he has many more years ahead of him.
Visit our Instagram post about Tariq for pictures and video of his jaunt in the garden and having his lunch…