Let’s Celebrate April 10th for Gopher Tortoise Day!

The Gopher Tortoise Council adopted April 10th as Gopher Tortoise Day to increase awareness and appreciation for these long lived, gentle reptiles. In Marco Island we have a dwindling population of gopher tortoises inhabiting the few vacant lots left.

In Marco Island, vehicular collision a big contributor to the death of gopher tortoises. Habitat loss is also a big factor for the decreasing population. Marco’s gopher tortoises are literally on a collision course with extinction unless they get stronger protection from local, state and federal agencies.

According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) Gopher tortoises are one of five North American tortoise species. They are the only tortoise naturally found east of the Mississippi River and can be found in all 67 Florida counties. 

Gopher tortoises burrow tunnels that provide shelters not only for themselves but for an estimated 360 species, making them a keystone species.  When you destroy their habitat, you are also displacing the habitat for the species that depend on the gopher tortoise burrows.  

According to experts, the tortoises’ key role in the Florida ecosystem is what makes their population decline so concerning. According to the FWC, the gopher tortoise was listed as a “species of special concern” in Florida in 1979 and was reclassified as a “state-designated threatened species” in 2007.

What can you do to help?  Help celebrate Florida’s only native tortoise by reducing road mortality.  Tips from FWC:

• Observe speed limits and wildlife crossing signs;

• Remember gopher tortoise activity is highest in the mid-morning and mid-afternoon.

• You may help the tortoise cross the road by placing it out of harm’s way in the same direction that it was going. DO NOT take the tortoise with you or move it to a different area. Also, do not put your life in danger to move the tortoise.

If you see an injured, sick or dead gopher tortoise, please call: Von Arx Wildlife Hospital at:  von Arx Wildlife Hospital at 239-262-CARE (2273) 8AM - 7PM