Desert Tortoise Recovery Office Dedicates Resources To Preserving This Fragile Species
The Mojave Desert is home to a secretive but fascinating tortoise, the Gopherus agassisii. As resilient as they might seem, the population dwindles at merely 100,000 specimens and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) recovery project, headed by Roy Averill-Murray, has been working tirelessly to bring this species back from the grave situation that they have fallen into. Among the threats to these animals include invasive flora, wildfires, development, and predation. Ravens are the main predators of the species and laser guns as well as robotic tortoises are being utilized in an attempt to deter these birds from harming the tortoises. Ravens avoid lasers and the robots emit a nasty tasting substance when touched, thus teaching the birds that the tortoises are not an ideal meal. The Desert Tortoise Recovery Office identifies and works to minimize threats to Gopherus agassisii; however, because of the large range of the species, it is difficult to accomplish this task. Although the mission of conserving the Desert Tortoise is a constant battle, recent population monitoring studies have concluded that their numbers are actually increasing, which provides a glimmer of hope for this fascinating tortoise of the southeast.
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Photo from Roy C. Averill-Murray.
