Submitted Photo Shelby, one of the zoo’s African spurred tortoises, is shown with a Roosevelt Park Zoo staff member. Shelby will visit Main Street Books this Saturday.

Main Street Books in Minot will have an unusual visitor this weekend. The bookstore partnered with Roosevelt Park Zoo, Minot, to host a tortoise-oriented event this Saturday. Meet a Tortoise at Main Street Books is centered around the opportunity to learn about and meet an African spurred tortoise.

“We have a story time gal here. She does story times every week, so she’s picked out tortoise-related books. She’ll have a craft, and then we bring out the animal,” said Lindsey Bertsch, event coordinator at Main Street Books. “The zookeepers talk about him or her — sometimes the animals can go around and be touched by the kids too, so it’s really cool.”

Bertsch booked the tortoise through the zoo’s Zoo To You Program. There are a dozen animal ambassadors in the program who go to classrooms, retirement homes, and other events to educate the public. Out of the 12 active animal ambassadors, half of them can be touched.

The zoo currently has two African spurred tortoises, Shelby and Wilson. Shelby came to Minot from another facility, but Wilson is likely someone’s rejected pet. A boater on Lake Sakakawea found him in 2018. Jennifer Kleen, executive director of the Greater Minot Zoological Society, said that one goal of the animal ambassadors is to educate the public on choosing pets responsibly.

“(Tortoises) can live up to 100 years. To have a tortoise, you have to a long-term plan, so that’s something that not everyone thinks about,” Kleen said.

Shelby will pay a visit to the bookstore Saturday, but she won’t be the first animal to do so. At other animal story times, a hedgehog, tarantula, and armadillo have made appearances.

“We did our first one in September. It was hit,” Bertsch said. “People really liked it, so we were like, let’s do this throughout the whole school year.”

The tortoise will be supervised by a zookeeper who will be available to answer questions attendees may have about the animal. Kleen said the zookeeper also helps the animal they’re accompanying stay safe in a learning setting.

“We have a protocol for every one of the animals on grounds,” Kleen said. “Kids are told they have to touch with two fingers. With young kids, when they’re thinking about just keeping those two fingers on the animal, they can’t think about doing much else.”

The event is free of charge, and Bertsch said while the traditional story times tend to lean toward younger kids, the animal story times tend to draw in an older age group.

“The last few times there were probably 11 and 12-year-olds who just wanted to be there to see, touch, and learn about the animal,” she said.

The event will start at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 22. For more information, contact Main Street Books at 839-4050.