For those of you in the family with inquiring minds—the Gopher Tortoise originated in North America 60 million years ago. It is the oldest living species and of course, endangered. This one lives in a burrow along our fence line. Since the gopher tortoise & rattlesnake sometimes share the same burrow, I do not put my hands anywhere near the entrance to his burrow. Enjoy!
You know what they say – Inquiring minds want to know….Fantastic pics Carole!
I love turtles!! What shall we name him?
How about Major Tom (the turtle) in keeping with the David Bowie theme?
How big is Tom – it is hard to tell? Maybe the gopher tortoises are endangered because they share digs with rattlers….Too bad, they are such beautiful creatures…..
Where have you been by the way?
Kimberly, I’ve been with our family in MI! I didn’t have a strong enough connection to get on the blog.
Major Tom is an excellent name! Tom is about 12″ long and I’m sure weighs over 25 lbs. I’ll have to see if I can get some pix of him grazing.
What is their range? I think I have seen one of these up here in MI. Why are turtles cute and snakes are ….not?
You shouldn’t find a gopher tortoise as far as MI. Their range is throughout FL, and southern areas of neighboring states.
You are right about the cuteness. When I was doing the headshot, I was thinking snake-like head, yet I found Tom to be rather cute. I have stopped plenty of times to help a turtle cross the road (even snapper turtles), yet I can honestly say that I’ve never tried to assist a snake across the road.
Here’s what I discovered about Major Tom and his endangered relatives. The burrows they dig are up to 30 feet long with dens on both ends. These dens are vital for the survival of over 350 species of animals who use them as protection from fire, predators and bad weather. Everything from skunks to bobcats to snakes use these tunnels. Smart move, Carole, to keep your face and hands away from these very busy tunnels!
I also read that, in a few weeks, the mama turtle will lay her eggs in a sandy mound near her den (look for it) but because of predators, it may take up to ten years to hatch a successful clutch. If you find it and can guard it for 80 days or have Kayla share guard duty, then you can take more baby photos for us. Wouldn’t that be grand?
Carole, thanks again for sharing your paradise with us. The turtle photos are magnificent.
Baby gopher turtles would just be too cool! The entrance to the den along the fence line does have a large mound of sand. I will investigate further. Margot, thanks for the info!
again excellent shots !! but I wanna see the gaitors!!!
Be careful what you ask for! Gators—I’ll see what I can do for you. That is one neighbor that is not allowed on the property.