TEHRAN -- A family of 40kg (88 pound) snapping alligator turtles, stolen from the local zoo 21 years ago, is believed to be lurking in Sydney's sewers, said an AFP report.

One of the turtles, found in a drain last weekend, has been put out to stud in his new home at the same Reptile Park he was stolen from.

Nicknamed Leonardo -- after the sewer-based warrior from the fictitious teenage mutant Ninja Turtles -- the endangered turtle is between 25 and 30 years old and is one of eight babies stolen from the same park in 1979.

"To have him back after all this time is quite bizarre," Australian Reptile Park spokeswoman Mary Rayner said Thursday.