The 55-pound tortoise is unable to move herself forward with just her front legs, so the zoo staff built her a metal frame with two wheels that can be strapped around her shell.

 

“We don't really know the reason why it's paralyzed, why this tortoise is paralyzed. We tried to find out to determine what is the cause. We didn't find it. So instead of just leaving it to move only with her front legs, we invented if we may say so ,ur, wheels, that were attached to her rear legs and it's allowed, and supposed to move almost freely in the enclosure."

 

Yedvad says it's not that Arava has come out of her shell with her unique new wheelchair, but that a particularly amorous 10-year-old male has been after her since her arrival. But despite some improvement, Arava still finds it difficult at times to use the new device. The handicapped tortoise is not able to writhe herself without assistance and the employees at the zoo have to do it.