"Hoover chickens" - Sixty years ago, when their numbers were much more plentiful, Gopher Tortoises were used for food.Because they are now a protected species, it is illegal to harvest them in any state.
"Hoover chickens" - Sixty years ago, when their numbers were much more plentiful, Gopher Tortoises were used for food.Because they are now a protected species, it is illegal to harvest them in any state.
Gopher tortoises are cold blooded reptiles that burrow deep into the earth, building homes for themselves and creating a refuge for other animals.
Populations of gopher tortoises are scattered throughout Florida and southern portions of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina. The species has been reduced throughout its range and is listed as threatened by the State of Florida.
Gopher tortoises live in dry sandy habitats and are usually found in sandhills, pine scrub, flatwoods, dry prairies, and coastal dune habitats. They feed mainly on low growing broad leaf grasses and legumes as well as blackberries, gopher apple, and saw palmetto berries.
Gopher tortoises are estimated to live 40 to 60 years in the wild and do not reach reproductive maturity until 10 to 15 years of age. Mature tortoises usually mate around April or May and females will lay a single clutch of 3 to 15 eggs near the burrow entrance. Gopher tortoise eggs are very vulnerable and about 80 percent of nests are destroyed by predators. After hatching, young tortoises either live in their mothers burrow or dig a small tunnel near her burrow.
The burrows which can be up to 40 feet long and 10 feet deep, maintain a fairly constant temperature and humidity throughout the year and provide the gopher tortoise and other critters with relief from the cold, heat, and dryness of the surrounding habitat. Burrows also act as a refuge from the periodic, regenerative fires that are required to maintain the quality of their scrubby habitats.
Gopher tortoises are known as a keystone species because their burrows provide shelter for so many animals. More than 350 species including mice, skunks, opossums, rabbits, armadillos, snakes, lizards, frogs, toads, and insects utilize the burrows as shelter from predators, weather and fire. Animals which utilize the gopher tortoise burrows are known as commensal species. Since many commensal species depend on the burrows for survival, decreases in gopher tortoise populations result in a decline of other species.
The primary causes of population decline for the gopher tortoise are habitat destruction, human predation, and increased vehicular traffic.(research by Tera Meeks, Park Services Specialist, Talbot Islands State Parks)
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