The Florida Gopher Tortoise, Gopherus polyphemus, is listed as 'vulnerable' by the Threatened and Endangered Species System. Recently, on an extended trip to Southwest Florida, I became acquainted with these stoic, marvelous animals.
Often you will see the adult members of the species out for a stroll on a sun-baked country road, and untold numbers of times I stopped my car on my way to my friend's horse farm to redirect a tortoise to a safer side of the road. This particular shelled friend had an affinity for one of the grooming stations at my friend's horse farm. On more than one occasion I would be working at the station when he would come over to say 'Hi!'
(That's him waving hello...subtle, isn't it?)
Though a herbivorous species, the extreme irritation displayed by the Florida Gopher Tortoise when you try to pick them up and move them to safety can be intimidating. They hiss loudly and blow frothy bubbles. Unless it is of paramount importance to move a tortoise, it's probably best to let them leave on their own.
Several factors contribute to the vulnerable status of these animals -- aside from human predation and carelessness, many animal predators exist: raccoons, armadillos, skunks, snakes, dogs (though we should probably class dogs as human carelessness), and fire ants. Human incidences include road mortality and construction site bulldozing in habitat areas. It is illegal to move a gopher tortoise from its habitat, but faced with burrowing tortoises in a home foundation, many homeowners resort to moving their underground neighbors in the middle of the night to what they deem may be a suitable new home.
We look to the future for these and many, many other animals on the list.
I have kept the text here simple in hopes that interested readers will look into the plight of the Florida Gopher Tortoise on their own, so here I am including some resources: The Gopher Tortoise Council, The Gopher Tortoise Organization, and an excellent article on the management of the Gopher Tortoise habitat on private property.
5 comments:
Thanks for this post. The extinction of a species should be untolerable. When we continue to pave the plains and hide the pines with billboard signs, we are losing species. Seeing the pictures of those WE are not saving makes it more difficult to welcome another strip mall into our communities.
While I don't know a whole lot about these beautiful creatures, I love them. I read "Turtle Bay" by Savoir Pirotta to my students several years ago, and fell in love ever since. I love the image of the babies running to the water... I wear a silver turtle around my neck as a symbol of my students who get where there going at their own pace...
Thank you for this post. They are wonderful creatures. I think you nailed it with the word "stoic". Wonderful photos, and excellent writing about an animal worth making any and all efforts to save.
Thank you all for the comment love...
@robertstevenson: It's easy for people, IMHO to want to save the whales or dolphins while, as you put it, "hiding {sic} the pines with billboard signs" but each species is part of the web from the sky to the plains to the oceans.
@cassy: I appreciate your symbology, but even more, it's great that you discuss animals and habitats with your students. Thank you!
@scott: Thank you again for your input--I'm feeling more comfortable with putting my own writing and photography on the site. Though I haven't been blogging long, there's already been a defninite evolution.
I can't say it any better than ROBERTSTEVENSON did. I agree 100%.
This is very informative; I am impressed. The photos are also incredible!!! Lucky you.
I found that thick plate under his chin fascinating. And the scales on his legs, and the missing claws which tell stories of his life.
Thank you for doing such an important post because it REALLY does make me appreciate even more (if that's possible :)) the Earth's wild creatures. I wondered how big he is. I don't remember reading that. Like how big across he is in this photo...or will grow. I love turtles and how they can retract into their shell. Nature is full of marvels that we humans often take for granted and never get to know. Thank you for this post.
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