Desert Tortoise (Gopherus Agassizii)
The desert tortoise has lived in the Mojave and Colorado/Sonoran deserts
of California, southern Nevada, Arizona, southwestern Utah, and in
Mexico for thousands of years. This reptile is able to survive ground
temperature exceeding 140 degrees F and is known to live as long as 60 to 80 years.
It is listed as "threatened" under the United States federal Endangered Species Act and is considered “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Despite the laws that protect them, their numbers are still in the decline.
Recent estimates indicate that there are about 100,000 individual desert tortoises remaining in the Mojave and Sonoran deserts.
It is listed as "threatened" under the United States federal Endangered Species Act and is considered “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Despite the laws that protect them, their numbers are still in the decline.
Recent estimates indicate that there are about 100,000 individual desert tortoises remaining in the Mojave and Sonoran deserts.
- 1994–Vulnerable (Groombridge 1994)
- 1990–Vulnerable (IUCN 1990)
- 1988–Vulnerable (IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre 1988)
- 1986–Vulnerable (IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre 1986)
In some areas, the number of desert tortoises has decreased by 90% due primarily to human activity. Desert tortoise declines appear to have been most severe and widespread in the Western Mojave Desert. . As late as the 1950’s the desert tortoise population averaged at least 200 adults per square mile. More recent studies show the level is now between 5-60 adults per square mile.