A rule-breaking tortoise avoided injury when firefighters from the San Bernardino County Fire Department sprang into action to safely move it out of a roadway.
Video shared by the Fire Department on Wednesday showed a firefighter greeting the small desert tortoise in the middle of a four-way intersection, picking it up and moving it off the roadway and into the nearby shrubbery.
“Warm or cold blooded, we’re proud to serve you,” the Fire Department wrote on Twitter.
It wasn’t immediately clear when and where the pseudo-rescue took place, but officials said it happened while firefighters were responding to a call for service.
Desert tortoises are among the most well-known and beloved animal species in Southern California, particularly near Joshua Tree National Park. They are considered “threatened” on both the California and Federal Endangered Species Lists.
Citing the National Park Service, the Fire Department urged people to only pick up a wild tortoise if it’s near a roadway and in “imminent danger of being struck by a vehicle,” adding that if you do find yourself having to lift one of the armored reptiles off the roadway, grab it firmly with two hands, keep only a few inches above the ground and then place it about 50 feet off the roadway in the same direction it was headed.
Earlier this year, jaywalking in California was decriminalized, so the tortoise was not cited.
