Save the Gopher Tortoise
Florida Gopher Tortoise
Gopher Tortoise
One of the best places to see gopher tortoises in their natural habitat is Hidden Waters Preserve in Eustis.
A Lame Charade
“Developers seeking to build on land colonized by tortoises typically agree to contribute to a habitat fund or set aside a relatively small parcel. It’s called mitigation, a lame charade intended to make the state appear vigilant and to make developers appear caring.” – Carl Hiaasen, Dance of the Reptiles (2014)
Lake Louisa State Park
The other day I hiked Lake Louisa State Park for the first time. I decided to hike a 2-mile loop around Bear Lake because it sounded pretty cool. Although I didn’t run into any bears, I did see three deer and a gopher tortoise. I also viewed Lake Louisa, Big Creek and Wilderness Point (a primitive camping area). I will definitely be back soon to check out some of the other hiking trails at this huge state park in Clermont.
The Tortoises of Tibet-Butler Preserve
During your next visit to Tibet-Butler Preserve, don’t miss the tortoise habitats that surround the Vera Carter Environmental Center at the entrance. Here are just a few of the tortoises that call Tibet-Butler Preserve home.
Save the Florida Gopher Tortoise
- Florida Gopher Tortoises (Gopherus polyphemus) are land-based, cold-blooded reptiles with wide flat claws that live in dry, sandy area with plenty of low-growing vegetation and do not know how to swim.
- Florida Gopher Tortoises average 10-15 inches long and 8-15 lbs. in weight.
- Florida Gopher Tortoises live from 40 to 60 years in the wild and can live more than 100 years in captivity.
- Florida Gopher Tortoises dig burrows in the ground – usually between 15 and 30 feet in length.
- Florida Gopher Tortoises are considered “keystone species” since their burrows provide shelter (from predators, extreme temperatures, fires, droughts and hurricanes) to approximately 360 other species of wildlife, including the Eastern Indigo Snake, Florida Mouse, Black Pine Snake and Gopher Frog.
- Florida Gopher Tortoises can be found in each of Florida’s 67 counties, as well as South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Georgia.
- Florida Gopher Tortoises spend approximately 80 percent of their life underground (although this may fluctuate dramatically due to environmental conditions).
- Florida Gopher Tortoises are protected as state-designated threatened species by Florida’s Endangered and Threatened Species Rule.
- Florida Gopher Tortoises are recognized annually in the Sunshine State on Florida Gopher Tortoise Day on April 10.
- Florida Gopher Tortoises are found in many different habitats, including mixed hardwood-pine communities, coastal grasslands and dunes, dry prairie, pine flatwoods and scrub.
- Florida Gopher Tortoises are the only tortoise species of genus Gopherus found east of the Mississippi River (the other species being Mojave Desert Tortoise, Texas Tortoise, Bolson Tortoise, Sonoran Desert Tortoise and Sinaloan Desert Tortoise).
- Florida Gopher Tortoises are primarily herbivores that eat grasses, saw palmetto berries, blackberries and blueberries, gopher apples, prickly pear cactus pads and mushrooms (although they also will occasionally eat bones from dead animals).
- Florida Gopher Tortoises live in colonies that may number up to 50 tortoises (with sub-groups called pods).
- Florida Gopher Tortoises face a significant threat due to both habitat destruction and land fragmentation.
As a threatened species, gopher tortoises “are protected under state law, Chapter 68A-27 of the Florida Administrative Code (F.A.C.). Property owners must obtain relocation permits from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWC) to relocate all gopher tortoises before any land clearing or development activities can take place,” according to the FWC. For more information about the Florida Gopher Tortoise, visit the Gopher Tortoise Education Corner at the FWC website.
Wandering Florida 