We saw her on the last walk of the last day of our five week trip around south Georgia/north Florida. The perfect ending to our trip.

FAST FACTS

about gopher tortoises

• THEY BURROW. Gopher tortoises generously share their burrows with several hundred different animal species. This makes the the gopher tortoise a keystone species and important to protect. (Source: Wikipedia)

• THEY’RE FAST (A big surprise.)

• THEY’RE THREATENED. The main issue is habitat loss. Urbanization continues to destroy long leaf forests. (Now I understand why Florida state parks are making such a concerted effort to re-establish the long leaf pines.)

• THEY’RE EXPENSIVE. In Florida, developers have to pay $1000 -$2000 to relocate a gopher tortoise if their land is scheduled for development. In 2020, 17,000 gopher tortoises were moved. (Source: Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 12/16/21)

And most importantly…

A tortoise is a turtle, but a turtle is not a tortoise.

Source: Park Ranger at Timocuan Preserve/Fort Caroline near Jacksonville, FL)