Children, adults offered lesson about Florida gopher tortoise

BY BETTY PORTER

It is against the law to damage or harass gopher tortoises.

That’s just one thing the children and adults learned at Satellite Beach Public Library during a family-friendly event celebrating Florida Gopher Tortoise Day.

The afternoon program on April 12 featured indoor educational games and arts and craft activities, a story walk and an outdoor habitat tour of gopher tortoise burrows, of which there are at least 17 such burrows on the library grounds.

“We don’t have to walk far,” said Jenny White, a biologist with the city of Satellite Beach, as she pointed out the many burrows, some clustered close to the walls of the library. “Each individual gopher tortoise makes its very own burrow in a sandy area and they never share them with other tortoises. An average gopher tortoise can use its shovel-like front feet to dig a 9-foot tunnel in just a day.”

Burrows can be up to 10 feet deep, she said.

“Satellite Beach is a very gopher tortoise friendly community,” said Susan Skinner, a naturalist in the Planning and Sustainability Department. “They are very common here (on the) beachside and the residents all respect them.”

Respect for the gopher tortoises was quite evident among the group of about 20 children who sat on the floor of the library’s conference room for the presentation.

Volunteers from the Florida Wildlife Hospital in Palm Shores also spoke to the children and adults about gopher tortoises, which generally dig nests in May and June and are legally protected.

“It’s against the law to damage, destroy, harass or kill gopher tortoises or their eggs or burrows,” presenter and Florida Wildlife Hospital volunteer Denise Canina said. “Tortoises are a keystone species, providing habitat for hundreds of other animals that use their burrows for protection from the elements and shelter from fire and predators.”

The volunteers brought with them several gopher tortoises to show, but not touch. Each of the gopher tortoises they showed the children had been brought to the wildlife care facility with injuries such that they could not be put back in the wild. They are considered resident tortoises of the Florida Wildlife Hospital and they all have names.

There’s Lt. Dan, a Keystone species who is missing part of his right front leg. He was found in an abandoned building and brought to the Florida Wildlife Hospital 13 years ago.

Batman suffered an injury to his left front leg and required two surgeries and an amputation. He has been a resident at the Wildlife Hospital for the past three years.

Carolina is a box turtle whose shell was permanently damaged by someone who had found her and kept her in water as a pet. “Box turtles should always be on land, not in water,” Canina said.

She explained that water makes their shells soft and renders them unable to build burrows.

In a response to a child’s question, Canina showed how to tell a female from a male gopher tortoise.

“The male has a curvature on his under belly while a female’s under belly is flat,” she said.

Canina went on to explain that are thought to live in excess of 60 years.

— Denise Canina

humans should never feed gopher tortoises or any other wild animal.

“The gopher tortoise is a herbivore and has a diet of grass and about 300 different types of plants,” she said. She noted that gopher tortoises are thought to live in excess of 60 years.

While the children were not able to touch the tortoises, the volunteers brought a yellow rat snake named

Dijon that the children could touch with two fingers if they desired. Many did. More information about Florida Gopher Tortoises can be found at gophertortoisecouncil. org and at MyFWC.com/ GopherTortoise SL