Desert Tortoise
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The Desert Tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) is a Southwest native species with distinct populations in the Mohave and Sonoran deserts.
The Sonoran desert population tends to live along rocky hillsides, the Mohave desert population tends to live in flatland areas.
Both subspecies tend to hibernate in underground burrows during the winter, occasionally
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.
© 2009 Patricia A. Michaels