turtle and tortoise club
View allAll Photos Tagged TORTOISE
The Gopher Tortoise was added to the "Threatened" list of species by the US. Fish and Wildlife Service on July 7, 1987. The primary reason is the destruction of habitat.
Like many a teen, this young Radiated Tortoise (Geochelone radiata) is getting to know himself. After all, he is only 13 years old and could easily have another hundred years of life ahead of him! At almost 15" long, he is basically full-grown at this point. And he's spends much of his time running about, flexing his muscles, and looking for ladies. Sometimes, he gets so excited by this search, he has to remind himself to eat.
Interestingly, this captively-cared for tortoise is a smart fellow who recognizes his keepers and will come up for head and shell scratches when they are within eye shot!
Chelonoidis sp. at the the Charles Darwin Research Station, Santa Crus Island.
They are the largest living species of tortoise, with some modern Galápagos tortoises weighing up to 417 kg (919 lb). With lifespans in the wild of over 100 years, they are one of the longest-lived vertebrates. Captive Galapagos tortoises can live up to 177 years. For example, a captive individual, Harriet, lived for at least 175 years. Spanish explorers, who discovered the islands in the 16th century, named them after the Spanish galápago, meaning "tortoise". (Wikipedia)
Passed this fella making his way down the trail also. The official state tortoise of Florida is the gopher tortoise.
Withlacoochee State Trail, Florida
Spotted this tortoise when I drove by the park on my way home last March. It was busy feeding on the grass so I pulled over and very slow and carefully took one step closer each time I got a chance when it's head was down on the grass. Surprised I could get that close without being spotted. I even got a short video. They're such nice creatures. They look so harmless .. never bothered anyone it seems.
Giant tortoise portrait, taken with a Nikon D600 and 300mm Nikkor lens. All my published books, available world wide, can be viewed here:
www.amazon.com/stores/Paul-Moore/author/B0075LNIO2?ref=ap...
A first for me. I was so excided to find one of these guys in my yard yesterday! Pretty cool looking guy I think ;-)
Here are some more information if you are interested:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_tortoise_beetle
Have a golden Sunday!
The Victoria Butterfly Gardens is located in the Greater Victoria region of Brentwood Bay and is one of the most popular tourist sites in the Victoria area. The Victoria Butterfly Gardens is known for having different species of butterflies and moths in their indoor facility, as well as birds, fishes, frogs, a chameleon, geckoes and tortoises.
I just met this big girl in my backyard. Not the same Gopher Tortoise as the previous photo. It's biggest one I've seen so far; easily a foot long. I've been down with a cold, but I hope to get out on the river tomorrow with the camera.
Citrus County, FL
Desert tortoise on his rounds to find food
One of the most difficult issues facing tortoises is high mortality among the newly hatched. It is believed that only 1-5 of 100 tortoises born survive to adulthood.
Tortoise / Autechre
Adverse Camber / To Day Retrieval
Thrill Jockey (1998)
Although uncredited on the release these are remixes of the track 'Ten-Day Interval' from the Tortoise album, 'TNT.'
During a recent trip in the foothills, we almost ran over this little guy. He was sitting in the middle of a country road just kind of kicking back. It wasn't a very good place for what he was doing this so I stopped and put him on the side of the road. I tried to get a picture of him with his head out of the shell, but he was a little camera shy. He might have been mad that I moved him from his spot in the road. Anyway, this was the best shot I could get.
In Florida gopher tortoises are on the Endangered Species List, categorized as a Threatened Species.
The gopher tortoise (gopherus polyphemus) belongs to a group of land tortoises that originated in North America 60 million years ago, thus making it one of the oldest living species.
Gopher tortoises are so named because of their ability to dig large, deep burrows. The gopher tortoise is unique in that it is one of the few tortoises to actually make large burrows. Many tortoises hide under vegetation or use very shallow burrows.
These guys are a lot more gentle than the Snapping Turtle. In fact, I don't think you can get one to bite you. (smile)
I found this one on the Pevine Trail in Osceola County, Florida.
Photo to Painterly Effect. The Galápagos tortoise or Galápagos giant tortoise is the largest living species of tortoise and the 14th-heaviest living reptile.
Gopher Tortoise in Florida. They live on dry land and burrow into the sand and dirt to make tunnels for their home's. These guy's are very fast on the surface,
I have and affinity for turtles and tortoises, because I'm slow too. It seems to take me forever to get something done. So when I found this one of Corfucius' sayings, I just had to use it!
ODC Jan. 17 - Confucius or Confusion Says...
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Back in October/November 2015 I was fortunate enough to visit Madagascar. It had been a country I’d longed to visit for about six years and what an amazing trip it was. When, sadly, it came to an end I was lucky enough to fly home via Mauritius. I only had a day to soak up Mauritius before boarding my flight back to the UK so I chose to spend as much of it as possible on a volcanic island known as Ile aux Aigrettes. Exploring the island is like travelling back in time to see what Mauritius would have looked like before the arrival of man, over 400 years ago. While small, around 27 hectares and located 800 metres off the south-east coast of Mauritius, it is a stronghold for the endemic species of the area.
Aldabra Giant Tortoises have been introduced to replace the extinct giant tortoise species once found there on the island. They were introduced from the Aldabra Atoll in the Seychelles to fill the niche the extinct giant tortoise once had. The giant tortoises, and now the Aldabra Tortoises, ate the fruit of the trees on the island, spreading the seeds. Without these fruit-eaters around, the trees could no longer disperse. Young trees would only grow directly below the adults.
You can read more about my time on Ile aux Aigrettes here;
Geochelone nigra is the largest living species of tortoise, reaching weights of over 400 kilograms (882 lb) and lengths of 1.8 meters (6 ft). This one was walking around, not afraid of tourists and their cameras. Imaging walking on that rocky land.
Charles Darwin Research Station on San Cristobal Island
www.arkinspace.com/2012/12/galapagos-tortoise-bounces-bac...