It鈥檚 a big day for Franklin the marginated tortoise who is being brought out of his slumber after spending 15 weeks chilling out in a refrigerator.

The tortoise, rescued from the shores of Shuswap Lake in the British Columbia Interior in 2022, has been in the refrigerator at the BC Wildlife Park in Kamloops since Oct. 1, in a hibernation-like state known as brumation.

The park鈥檚 animal care manager Tracy Reynolds says marginated tortoises are more at home in a warm and dry Mediterranean climate, and winter in the B.C. Interior is 鈥渇ar too harsh鈥� for Franklin to spend outdoors.

She says he鈥檚 been kept at 6 degrees Celsius in a refrigerator at the park but is scheduled Tuesday to move into an indoor habitat with his new neighbour, a red-footed tortoise named Mortimer.

Reynolds says Franklin was likely an abandoned pet, and the people who rescued him cared for him for a few months before handing him over to the park

She says brumation is a natural process for cold-blooded animals like tortoises, allowing them to conserve energy through winter.

鈥淭hey don鈥檛 completely shut down or stop moving. They do move around a little bit in their little hibernation area. It鈥檚 just their body cools right down, and they go into a state of torpor 鈥� everything slows down,鈥� Reynolds said.

She says once Franklin鈥檚 body warms up, he鈥檒l become active right away.

Reynolds said Franklin was reserved and ill when he was first brought to the park, but he has been getting stronger and more 鈥渙utgoing.鈥�

鈥淚 think we鈥檙e starting to see his personality, if you want to call it that, but it鈥檚 kind of changing over time, and his activity level and what he engages with is getting more and more as he gets healthier,鈥� said Reynolds.

She said Franklin and Mortimer were both once pets but their owners probably 鈥渄idn鈥檛 want them anymore because they are a very long commitment.鈥�

She said Franklin鈥檚 story highlights the importance of doing research before getting a pet, particularly tortoises, since some species including marginated tortoises can live for 100 years.

鈥淪o, you鈥檙e not looking at just a five or 10-year commitment. You鈥檙e looking at maybe having to put it in your will,鈥� laughed Reynolds, 鈥淚t might outlive you.鈥�