gopher tortoises, oh my!

When we bought this 13-acre farm in August 2018, we had no idea of anything tortoise! Well, since we noticed deep holes scattered around our paddocks, Bill investigated. Turns out we have a few Florida Gopher Tortoises who have made GGF their home.

Tortoise facts:

• In Florida, gopher tortoises are found in parts of all 67 counties and are frequently encountered in neighborhoods, along roadways, and in many of Florida's parks and forests.
• Gopher Tortoise Day is April 10, and the goal is to increase awareness and appreciation for these long-lived gentle reptiles.
• Gopher tortoises are considered a keystone species because they dig burrows that provide shelter for 360 other species of wildlife, called “commensals.” These commensal species include the gopher frog, Florida mouse, eastern indigo snake, and hundreds of invertebrates like beetles and crickets. Without the gopher tortoise, many of these species would not exist.
• Gopher tortoises can live 40 to 60 years in the wild. The life of a gopher tortoise revolves around its burrow(s) where gopher tortoises spend up to 80% of their time. Burrows average 15 feet long and 6.5 feet deep.
• The primary threat to the gopher tortoise is habitat loss through habitat destruction, fragmentation, and degradation, particularly from urbanization and development. Land development for residential homes generally occurs in the same high, dry habitats that the tortoise prefers. Lack of appropriate land management (especially prescribed burning) has also contributed to population declines in areas where natural habitat remains.   
• The gopher tortoise has some form of state-level protection in each state which it occurs and is a State-designated Threatened species in Florida.
• The gopher tortoise is unique in that it is Federally listed as Threatened under the Endangered Species Act only in portions of Alabama.

​Comment below if you are a "tortoise lover"!