Rockalina, an eastern box turtle that spent nearly 50 years in a dark basement living mostly on cat food, has met another turtle and shared a strawberry with her for the first time.
What happened?
According to PEOPLE, a family caught Rockalina in the wild during the 1970s while she was still a hatchling and kept her indoors for decades before eventually giving her up.
She was in poor shape when rescuers found her. One leg had cat hair tightly wrapped around it, her nails were badly overgrown, and her eyes were crusted shut.
Now, more than a year after her 2025 rescue story drew widespread attention, Rockalina lives in a spacious outdoor habitat made for eastern box turtles. She spends her days foraging for insects and other small prey on her own.
Another big step came when Chris Leone, founder of Garden State Tortoise, slowly introduced her to Pebble, a young eastern box turtle born in captivity, PEOPLE reported.
"She was curious immediately," Leone said. "She was sniffing it, licking it, looking it dead in the eye, walking around with it."
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Rockalina and Pebble even ate from the same strawberry.
Why does it matter?
After half a century without natural light, space, or companionship, Rockalina is now displaying behaviors that should have been part of her life all along.
Eastern box turtles often live for more than a century, meaning decades of poor care can still leave an animal with a chance at recovery if intervention happens in time.
What's being done?
Leone and the team at Garden State Tortoise have focused on rebuilding Rockalina's life step by step. They've given her a proper outdoor enclosure, access to natural foods, and the time she needs to relearn normal behaviors after decades in isolation.
Pebble's introduction was handled gradually as well. Leone said, according to PEOPLE, that he hopes Rockalina will one day be part of a small group of female box turtles.
"She's actually become a turtle," Leone said.
After spending most of her life in a basement, Rockalina is finally doing the things she was denied for decades: exploring outside, finding food, and meeting another turtle.
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