Did you know? Sylvester Stallone kept his two turtles from Rocky and they’re now 44 years old!

Everyone knows Sylvester Stallone as the hero of Rocky and Rambo, but what you might not know is that he’s also a wonderful dad and animal lover.

In May, Sylvester Stallone dropped some major behind the scenes knowledge on his Instagram account…

Dog and turtles in Rocky

Most of us have seen Sylvester Stallone’s classic about the underdog boxer who gets his chance to fight a heavyweight champion.

If you have seen the movie, you have probably noticed that there are some pets in it as well.

Butkus the dog appeared alongside Rocky Balboa in the original “Rocky” and again in “Rocky II”; the large Bull Mastiff was actually owned by Sylvester Stallone in real life.

Sylvester Stallone’s turtles

Sadly, Butkus died back in 1981. But two other star animals from 1976’s original, Oscar-winning Rocky are still alive and kicking: Cuff and Link!

2019, the turtles are still alive and living a life of relative peace.

Rocky purchases the reptiles while courting Adrian at the pet store she worked at.

In the film, Stallone introduces them to his love Adrian as, “the exotic animals I was telling you about. These are my friends, Cuff and Link,” and forgetting that he had bought them from her.

Earlier this month, the 72-year-old actor shared a photo of himself with turtles Cuff and Link on his Instagram page.

In the post, he revealed they’ve been with him since his the first Rocky movie.

They also made a comeback on the big screens, in Stallone’s 2018 film Creed II.

“In CREED 2 with my original buddies from the first Rocky … CUFF and LINK, now about 44 years old!” Stallone wrote in the caption.

That’s absolutely incredible after all these years!