Gopher tortoise burrows can be more than 20 feet long, according to Meylan, providing critical shelter not just for the tortoises but also for hundreds of other animals that depend on them to survive ...

The best way to celebrate Gopher Tortoise Day is to ensure there are more gopher tortoises across their natural range in the southeast United States. ... coyotes, and other predators often eat ...

Natural predators, hurricanes, ... Gopher tortoises share their burrows with more than 350 other species, and are therefore referred to as a keystone species. In Florida, ...

saving the gopher tortoise As this keystone species' name suggests, the gopher tortoise is an expert at living underground — like a gopher. When these tortoises aren't industriously digging burrows to ...

The 14-year-old gopher tortoise is a favorite of Amanda Hipps, ... and more—use tortoise dens to seek shelter and escape heat, fires, and predators. (See 17 surprisingly cute pictures of turtles.) ...

“If I’m a predator, you could spot this thing from a mile away.”Gopher tortoises are a threatened species in Florida, and handling them without a permit is illegal.

Gopher tortoises play a crucial role in Florida's ecosystem. Their shells help them evade predators and regulate body temperature — functions that were disrupted by the nail polish.

April 10 was designated Florida Gopher Tortoise Day in 2016. ... Possums will go in there to get away from predators," Jones-Morton said. "Then we have the obligates.

Gopher tortoises are long-lived, reaching up to 100 years of age in captivity and living 60 or more years in the wild. They weigh 8 to 15 pounds and measure 10 to 15 inches end to end when fully ...

PALM CITY, Fla. — A gopher tortoise was picked up in Port St. Lucie, when a homeowner found her in their yard painted with nail polish. Now, it's undergoing cleaning and treatment at the ...

More than a third of adult gopher tortoises have died at a nature preserve in St. Petersburg, and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is investigating. Axios Tampa Bay reports ...

Wildlife in Southwest Florida can face an array of challenges in order to survive. Natural predators, hurricanes, vehicles and the constant growth and development taking place that impacts their ...