juvenile gopher tortoise
This young tortoise was trying to cross the Legacy (Bicycle) Trail, in the general vicinity of Oscar Scherer State Park, amidst very heavy two-wheeled traffic. Adult tortoises and their burrows are easy to spot along this public railbed/bike path. The species (Gopherus polyphemus) is state-listed as "Threatened" in Florida and deserves listing by the US Fish & Wildlife Service under the Endangered Species Act, but has not been thus designated due to agency resource limitations (and resistance from developers?). It occupies the type of dry, well drained soils beloved by real estate developers, and if any phrase best summarizes life in Florida today, it is rampant, relentless, rapacious development and massive destruction of wildlife habitat.
An adult tortoise can reach nearly a foot in length and will spend most of its time in burrows it has excavated (length of the burrows can reach 15 or more). It's generally a good idea to avoid touching these animals, but this little one was in grave danger of being crushed by racing cyclists and thick-wheeled, rapidly moving e-bikes, so we moved it off the pavement into the adjacent grass and shrub-land. Gopher tortoises are characterized as a keystone species, as they modify the environment in ways that benefit many other species: over 300 species of animals have been found living their burrows. They are relatively accustomed to human activity, and I've found in some parks they actually walked directly toward me if I stop to photograph them. The fourth photo shows that adult approaching me.
(Legacy Trail, Osprey/Venice Florida, Sarasota County: 02, April, 2023
juvenile gopher tortoise
This young tortoise was trying to cross the Legacy (Bicycle) Trail, in the general vicinity of Oscar Scherer State Park, amidst very heavy two-wheeled traffic. Adult tortoises and their burrows are easy to spot along this public railbed/bike path. The species (Gopherus polyphemus) is state-listed as "Threatened" in Florida and deserves listing by the US Fish & Wildlife Service under the Endangered Species Act, but has not been thus designated due to agency resource limitations (and resistance from developers?). It occupies the type of dry, well drained soils beloved by real estate developers, and if any phrase best summarizes life in Florida today, it is rampant, relentless, rapacious development and massive destruction of wildlife habitat.
An adult tortoise can reach nearly a foot in length and will spend most of its time in burrows it has excavated (length of the burrows can reach 15 or more). It's generally a good idea to avoid touching these animals, but this little one was in grave danger of being crushed by racing cyclists and thick-wheeled, rapidly moving e-bikes, so we moved it off the pavement into the adjacent grass and shrub-land. Gopher tortoises are characterized as a keystone species, as they modify the environment in ways that benefit many other species: over 300 species of animals have been found living their burrows. They are relatively accustomed to human activity, and I've found in some parks they actually walked directly toward me if I stop to photograph them. The fourth photo shows that adult approaching me.
(Legacy Trail, Osprey/Venice Florida, Sarasota County: 02, April, 2023