A 22-year-old girl is friends with an African turtle (8 photos)
True friendship can last for years and even a lifetime. Especially if your friend is an African tortoise that lives 100 years. An American named Caitlin Doran, for example, has been friends with a turtle for 22 years! 
A California woman named Caitlin Doran has gone viral on social media by sharing her friendship with her 22-year-old pet tortoise. When the girl was 7 years old, she asked Santa for an African turtle for Christmas - and her wish was granted.
“Perhaps I just liked how much attention such a unique pet would attract. But I knew I wanted an animal that I could spend a lot of time with, so I chose a turtle,” Caitlin said. 
At first, the turtle, which the girl named Tiptoe, or "tiptoe" in English, was at first the size of the palm of her hand. She has now grown into an 80-pound turtle that celebrated its 22nd birthday a few months ago. According to the owner, she and her pet walk around the area every day: the walk usually takes about 40 minutes, and during this time someone always approaches Tiptow. 
Tiptow has gained popularity not only on the streets, but also online. Her owner already has 4.5 million subscribers on TikTok, who watch the life of the turtle every day. The girl started publishing videos and photos with the turtle when the pandemic began - at first she simply posted funny videos out of boredom, and then she talked more and more about the unique pet. According to the girl, she did not expect that the first video with Tiptow would immediately gain as many as 12 million views. 
Video from Tiptow:
