Lending Tortoises a Helping Hand
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All four species are in need of a helping hand from landowners and other concerned individuals. Here's a quick rundown of progress to date.
- The Bolson Tortoise (Gopherus flavomarginatus), the largest and most endangered tortoise species in North America, once ranged throughout the Chihuahuan desert region of the United States and Mexico. Today, only a small native population can be found in northern Mexico. The Turtle Survival Alliance reports that a captive breeding program, currently underway, represents the best chance for stabilizing the wild populations.
- The Desert Tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) is a Southwest native species with distinct populations in the Mohave and Sonoran deserts. A variety of government and non-governmental organizations are working to improve its long term survival prospects. The Mojave population has been listed as threatened. In October 2008 a couple of groups petitioned to have the Sonoran Desert population likewise listed, claiming that population levels have fallen by about 50% during the past twenty years.
- The Gopher Tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) is a resident of the Southern United States from Florida to the eastern parts of Louisiana. The Gopher Tortoise Council is one of many organizations working to improve the tortoise's long term survivability through education, outreach and land conservation efforts.
- The Texas Tortoise (Gopherus berlandieri), pictured above, is the smallest tortoise in the United States. A native of Northern Mexico and Southern Texas, population declines led to its being designated a protected species in 1977. Up to date population studies are lacking. Texas has many turtle species, and over the past decade or so, commercial interests have placed great stress on all turtle population.
© 2008. Patricia A. Michaels