Endangered Species Alert: The Gopher Tortoise
Lea IseliPVPHS Class of 06
Description:
The gopher tortoise has predominant shades of brown, olive, yellow and black. Its shell is high-arched or domed, and is commonly patterned with bright rays of concentric rings. Its head and neck are rarely stripped or spotted. Its hind legs are the shape of elephant feet and the forelimbs are somewhat flattened, with large bony-cored scales. It has short, unwebbed toes, each with no more than two phalanges.
Location:
Gopher tortoises live in tropical and subtropical areas, on all major land masses except for Australia and Antarctica. They mainly inhabit the Gulf Coast, from eastern Texas to southwestern South Carolina, and the drier, sandy areas of Florida.
Habitat:
The gopher tortoise lives in terrestrial areas in colonies.
Niche:
Most gopher tortoises are herbivores, but some are omnivores. They come out to feed upon the grasses and perhaps other succulent vegetation during the day, but return night after night to the same burrow. However, they are extremely shy. The slightest movement will cause them to retreat. When an intruder comes upon a tortoise it withdraws its limbs and its head, emitting a low hiss as it does so.
Life Cycle:
The eggs laid by the gopher tortoise are spherical. They are approximately 3 to 6 centimeters in diameter. There are usually 1 to 50 eggs per clutch. The gopher tortoise lays its eggs at the front of the burrow or in a pile of earth.
Reasons for Becoming Endangered/Threatened:
- Many tortoises are killed each year by automobiles.
- During the Great Depression, many people relied on the tortoise as a food source.
- Increases in the human population have caused gopher tortoises to decrease in number because humans have taken over their habitat.
Many efforts have been made to save the range-wide decline of gopher tortoises. In 1978, a group of biologists and others concerned about this animal formed a group called the Gopher Tortoise Council. Also, many states have laws prohibiting people to kill tortoises because they are endangered. If someone is found killing or even hurting a gopher tortoise, there will be a large fine.
Three Interesting Facts:
- A gopher tortoise's burrow can be several feet deep, descending from 10 to 20 feet.
- Floridians call the gopher tortoises simply "the gopher" because of the burrows they dig.
- They stay at the same burrow for years unless it is disturbed, in which case the tortoise moves and find itself another home.