Presented by Xandi Barrett with help from Mojave Max

Desert Tortoise
Presented by Xandi Barrett
with help from Mojave Max
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Mojave Max
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Mojave Max
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Mojave Max
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Mojave Max
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Lives at Red Rock Canyon National
Conservation Area
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Hatched in 1989
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Weighs 12.5 lbs; 13 inches long
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Became the spokestortoise for the desert
tortoises of the Mojave in 1995
The Punxsutawney Phil of the desert
southwest
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Basic
Information
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Can live 50-80 years
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Mostly herbivorous
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Consumes herbs, grasses, shrubs, and new growth or
flowers of cacti
Will eat scavenged bone material for calcium
Found in Mojave and Sonoran Deserts
Live in creosote bush flats, salt desert scrub,
and on sloping terrain of alluvial fans or
foothills
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Range
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Physical
Appearance
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Dimensions: 4-6 inches tall; 9-15 inches in
shell length
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Weight: 8-15 lbs
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Green to dark brown
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Stumpy, elephantine legs with sharp claws are
used for digging burrows
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Sonoran Desert Tortoise
Western Mojave Tortoise
(Gopherus agassizii)
(Gopherus morafkai)
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Flat, pear shape
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Butterball shape
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Active in summer
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Active in spring
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Species'
Ranges
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Behavior
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Head-bobbing=shaking hands
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Circling one another=hugging
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Chin gland sniffing=exchanging pleasantries
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Biting=courting
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May joust with gular horn (extended part of
underside of shell) to flip opponent; overturned
tortoise must flip back or will die of suffocation,
sun exposure, or freezing
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Water
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Most of water intake comes from moisture
in grasses and wildflowers
Store water in bodies; water in bladder can
be used
Dig catchment basins and remember
locations for when rain comes
May survive a year without water
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Reproduction
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Mate any time; peak season March to early
October
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Eggs usually laid between May and July
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Eggs hatch between 70 and 120 days later
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4-6 eggs
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Females don't breed until 15-20
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Only 2-3 per 100 tortoises hatched live to
adulthood
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Burrows
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Allow it to live in areas where ground temps exceed
140 degrees
Retreat into shade or burrows once temp reaches
91 degrees
Spend 95% of time in burrows because of heat and
cold
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Dug by tortoises
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3-6 feet deep
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Brumation
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November through February
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Do not sleep
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Metabolism slows
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Can go months without eating or moving
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Emergence
Contest
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When will Mojave Max emerge?
Emergence indicates beginning of spring-like
weather in Mojave Desert region
Past emergence times:
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2013: 3/14 1:45 PM
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2012: 4/17 12:41 PM
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2004: 2/14 11:45 AM
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The desert tortoise population has
decreased by 90% since 1950s. There
are now only about 100,000 left.
They have decreased from 200 per
square mile in 1950s to 5-60 per
square mile today.
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Threats
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Habitat fragmentation
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Fatal diseases
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Poaching
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Off-highway vehicles in habitat and crushing
by vehicles
Burrow collapse; associated with cattle
grazing
Ravens are common predators of juveniles in
areas of human disturbance
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Climate
Change
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Increased temperature and drought
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Reduce time spent feeding
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Must stay out of heat and dryness
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Lack of food availability
Fewer young
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Fewer eggs
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Temps above 95 degrees lethal
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Temps above 88.7 degrees produce female tortoises
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Solar Plants
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Two recently approved solar plants in the
Mojave Desert will isolate desert tortoise
habitats
Will shrink gene pool of an already threatened
species
Defenders of Wildlife filed intent to sue
government under ESA to block project
Government said will expand Ivanpah Desert
Wildlife Management Area to protect tortoises
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Think About It:
Do you support the solar
projects or the protection of
the desert tortoise?
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Protection
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Listed as threatened under California ESA in
1989
Listed as threatened under Federal ESA in
1990
Recovery plan formed in 1994
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If You See One...
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Don't pick it up! It may get
frightened and “void” its bladder.
This is where it stores water and
it may die without this store.
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Sources
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http://www.mydesert.com/viewart/20140223/BUSINESS/302230014/
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http://www.defenders.org/desert-tortoise/basic-facts
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http://www.defenders.org/desert-tortoise/threats
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http://www.defenders.org/desert-tortoise/what-defenders-doing-help
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http://mojavemax.com/store.html
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http://www.redrockcanyonlv.org/redrockcanyon/mojave-max/
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http://www.desertusa.com/reptiles/desert-tortoise.html
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/mojave_max/3812488214/
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http://www.kvoa.com/news/sonoran-desert-tortoise-now-an-endangered-species-candidate/
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http://www.nps.gov/pwr/moja/photosmultimedia/images/tortoise-Ivanpah_1.JPG
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http://www.blm.gov/pgdata/etc/medialib/blm/wo/Communications_Directorate/public_affairs/landscape_approach/doc
uments1.Par.31632.File.dat/SOD_3_Final_Desert_Tortoise_Insert.pdf
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http://smithsonianscience.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/tortoise_spp_map.jpg
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Sources
Cont'd
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http://www.nps.gov/jotr/naturescience/tortoise.htm
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http://mbreiding.us/ert/Arizona/Rincons/nps.gov/sagu/www.nps.gov/sagu/research/reproduction.htm
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http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/turtle/Destortprintout.shtml
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http://www.blm.gov/ca/forms/wildlife/details.php?metode=serial_number&search=2568
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http://mojavemax.com/PDF%20Files/HistoricalInfo2013.pdf
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http://www.clarkcountynv.gov/Depts/dcp/Services/PublishingImages/Emerging9.jpg
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http://www.azgfd.gov/w_c/images/poster_small_001.jpg
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http://www.hear2heal.com/images/SAY%20AAAH%20Open%20Mouth%20Desert%20Tortoise.jpg
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http://www.clarkcountynv.gov/Depts/dcp/Services/PublishingImages/Emerging9.jpg
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http://www.kingsnake.com/rockymountain/RMHPages/111506fuji1_241-med.jpg
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http://tortoise-tracks.org/threats/grazing
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http://articles.latimes.com/2012/mar/04/local/la-me-solar-tortoise-20120304
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