View allAll Photos Tagged tortoise
Gopherus polyphemus
December, 2011. Withlacoochee State Forest, Florida.
A sub-adult from the Withlacoochee State Forest in central Florida. An inhabitant of the southeastern United States, the Gopher Tortoise prefers open and forested environments where sandy soils exist. They are excellent burrowers and construct burrows which may exceed 40 feet in length and extend downward up to 10 feet below the surface. It is considered a keystone species, as more than 360 species of animals have been known to utilize its burrow, including large snakes such as the Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake (Crotalus adamanteus) and the Eastern Indigo Snake (Drymarchon couperi). The Gopher Tortoise is listed as a Threatened species under the Endangered Species Act, and is protected by federal and state law.
Described as the largest tortoises in the world...any bigger and they can offer rides on the backs to the kiddies...
taken at the Parc Vanille on the South Coast of Mauritius, a lovely little wildlife park, which the best bits were probably these fellas'ladies and the croc's and the small museum of moths/butterflies/ bugs etc ....I even brave taking some shots considering my phobia...even though they were dead and behind glass......the colours on some were quite amazing !
These Giant Tortoises were part of a breeding programme here I think - they had the younger ones in their own enclosures behind glass. This fella could have been 60 or 70 years old.
2013 - Mauritius
This is a baby tortoise we saw on the side of the road in Kruger National Park, South Africa.
Before anyone gets out of their pram and says we shouldn't have been touching the animals or out of our car, this was held by the rangers girlfriend and would have been crushed if she'd not spotted it.
The islands that have Giant Tortoise populations have different types, identified by their shells. Here, two females are arguing over territory.
Urbina Bay, Isabela Island, Galapagos, Ecuador
5/15/12
A bag full of hundreds of tortoises at a pet & animal market on the outskirts of Guangzhou in China. © Patrick Brown - Panos Pictures.
Watch the Picture Perfect documentary with Patrick Brown.