Desert Tortoise Eating

by Linda Brody

Title

Desert Tortoise Eating

Artist

Linda Brody

Medium

Photograph - Photography

Description

Our two desert tortoises live in an enclosed area on our property. Here, the female is captured eating vegetables. In California, many are born in captivity, and can be adopted as pets. They are licsened by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Because of viruses that captive tortoises can either catch or spread to tortoises in the wild, the two cannot be together. Ours are approximately 25 years old, one male, one female. In this capture, the male in the back wants the female to move.

The desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii and Gopherus morafkai) are species of tortoise native to the Mojave desert and Sonoran desert of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico and the Sinaloan thornscrub of northwestern Mexico.] Gopherus agassizii is distributed in western Arizona, southeastern California, southern Nevada, and southwestern Utah. The species name agassizii is in honor of Swiss-American zoologist Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz. Recently, on the basis of DNA, geographic, and behavioral differences between desert tortoises east and west of the Colorado River, it was decided that two species of desert tortoises exist: the Agassiz's desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) and Morafka's desert tortoise (Gopherus morafkai). Gopherus morafkai occurs east of the Colorado River in Arizona as well as in the states of Sonora, Sinaloa, Mexico. This species may be a composite of two species.

The desert tortoises live approximately 50 to 80 years; they grow slowly and generally have low reproductive rates. They spend most of time in burrows, rock shelters, and pallets to regulate body temperature and reduce water loss. They are most active after seasonal rains and are inactive during most of the year. This inactivity helps reducing water loss during hot periods, whereas winter hibernation facilitates survival during freezing temperatures and low food availability. Desert tortoises can tolerate water, salt, and energy imbalances on a daily basis, which increases their lifespan.

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Amateur Photographers

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October 24th, 2014

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