Wildlife Viewing - Species Spotlight

Species Spotlight : Gopher Tortoise

Of the clan of animals tied to the sandhill community, the gopher tortoise may be most crucial. A superb earth-mover, it lives in long, burrows that offer refuge from cold, heat, drought, forest fires and predators. The record burrow was over 47 feet long.

The most amazing trait of the gopher tortoise is that it shares its burrow with hundreds of other species, including opossums, rabbits, gopher frogs, Florida mice, eastern diamondback rattlesnakes and gopher crickets. For this reason it is called a keystone species, so named because the upper stone in an arch, the keystone, supports the other stones to hold them in place.

Gopher tortoises can live 50 years or more. They take a long time to mature -- females reach adulthood at 10 to 20 years of age, depending on latitude. Although adult tortoises average 9-11 inches in length, the record shell length is 15 inches.

These reptiles feed on low-growing plants like wiregrass, broadleaf grasses, and legumes (bean family plants). They also eat prickly pear cactus, blackberries, paw-paws, and other seasonal fruits. In addition to needing open areas with abundant food, gopher tortoises also require relatively deep, sandy soils for burrowing and sunny spots for laying eggs.

Gopher tortoises are ancient: their ancestors are a species of land tortoise that originated in western North America some 60 million years ago. They are the only tortoise that occurs east of the Mississippi River, in habitats that some refer to as the "southeastern desert."

The absence of natural cycles of burning in pine forests spells hardship for tortoises. The dense vegetation (shrubs, brambles, small trees) that colonizes a forest in the absence of fire shades out the tender herbs tortoises like to eat, and limits their food supplies. Fire is vital in maintaining many native ecosystems, like longleaf pine sandhills, where gophers live.

The breeding season is generally considered to be spring, but males may attempt to mate throughout the activity season (April-December). During May and June, females deposit 3-12 eggs (average 6) in the sand mounds in their burrow mounds or in other nearby open sandy sites. Incubation depends upon climate and takes from 80 to 110 days up the length of the tortoise range, throughout Florida up to southern South Carolina. Many tortoise eggs and hatchlings are eaten by predators (e.g., raccoons).

During winter, tortoises are much less active; although on warm afternoons, some individuals trudge to the earth's surface to bask on the sandy aprons of their burrows.

The Gopher Tortoise Council is a group that focuses its efforts on research and conservation of gopher tortoises. They have a yearly conference and a newsletter. To join, write c/o Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, P.O. Box 117800, Gainesville, FL 32611-7800.

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Wildlife Viewing : Species Spotlight : Gopher Tortoise

Species Spotlight : Gopher Tortoise