Half way there! :o)

Hello everyone,

We are already half way there to my goal of $2,000! I want to thank you all so much for your support!

I thought I would share some more information to all of you that might not be as familiar with Gopher tortoises as to why they are so important. 

These dry-land tortoises can grow up to 16 inches in length and weigh between 8 and 15 pounds However, body size tends to depend on a number of factors including temperature, productivity, and seasonality. Below is a picture with a large adult tortoise found last summer.

 

Under the Endangered Species Act, gopher tortoises have historically been considered a Threatened species in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama (and have recently been listed as Threatened in Florida) while remaining a Candidate species in Georgia.

 

Gopher tortoises inhabit several parts of the southeastern United States and are vital to the longleaf pine, coastal grassland, and scrub-type habitats in which they live as shown below.  Much of this habitat still exists on Cumberland Island.  

 

Their burrows, which typically run from 3 to 52 feet long and 23 feet deep, provide shelter for the tortoises as well as help the gopher tortoises regulate their body temperatures with the extremes of the seasons.

 

The tortoise's importance to this ecosystem cannot be understated as it is estimated that over 300 species of animals inhabit gopher tortoise burrows including mice, toads, lizards, frogs, and numerous insect and snake species.  On Cumberland Island, I have seen the coachwhip snake sharing the burrows. The picture below shows one peeking out of a burrow!

 

The tortoises lay their eggs at the edge of their burrow in the sand apron to allow sunlight to heat the eggs during incubation.  This causes a problem however, because the eggs that are left exposed are at risk of being eaten by predators such as armadillos, foxes, cats, raccoons, and opossums, although on Cumberland Island it seems to mainly be the Armadillo!  

 

Please continue to support me and share with all of your friends such that I can reach my goal and continue to study these amazing and important organisms on Cumberland Island!