Gopher tortoise

Calvin Robinson

Calvin Robinson

Moderator Christian Forum
I ran up on this little gopher tortoise the other day while working at my hunting place.
I had one for a pet when I was a boy,we were realy poor and couldn't afford dogs or cats.:biggrin: They weren't protected back then,my daddy killed it and cooked it and fed it to us without telling us what it was. Every time I see one of these it reminds me of my boyhood.:biggrin:
 
Calvin,
Your folks were that poor that your daddy killed and cooked your turtle and then fed it to you? :sad:

Boy I was lucky! I grew up never not having enough to eat or going hungry at all!
 
rhinoknives said:
Calvin,
Your folks were that poor that your daddy killed and cooked your turtle and then fed it to you? :sad:

Boy I was lucky! I grew up never not having enough to eat or going hungry at all!
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:biggrin: Laurence,we were poor but not that poor. When we questioned why our gopher suddenly disappeared that's the story our daddy told us,we believed him and he never recanted the story. Poor old Hercules.:sad:
 
Sure reminds me of the old days. We used to see lots of them out in the desert. Kept them for pets, raised babies etc. One time we collected about a dozen wild ones. They are so slow moving and defenseless (except for their shells) they disappeared pretty fast. I wanted to eat one, but my mom wouldn't cook it for me. Don't see many chuckwallas out in the wild anymore either. The desert just isn't what it used to be back in the good old days. It's been picked pretty clean.

The last one I saw on my land turned out to be a neighbors pet that escaped.
 
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The gopher tortoise has recovered very well in Florida since they became protected. I own 160 acres and on the parts that are suitable for their habitat I have about 5 or 6 dens per acre.
 
Sounds like they are doing better over there than over here. They are protected now as far as I know, but habitat degradation, invasive species and diseases seem to have taken there toll. They still aren't seen much in the wild. :(
 
One said:
Sounds like they are doing better over there than over here. They are protected now as far as I know, but habitat degradation, invasive species and diseases seem to have taken there toll. They still aren't seen much in the wild. :(
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I'm sure there is way more food per acre for them here than in the desert,I would guess that the population denisity has always been higher here than there.
 
Calvin Robinson said:
The gopher tortoise has recovered very well in Florida since they became protected. I own 160 acres and on the parts that are suitable for their habitat I have about 5 or 6 dens per acre.
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Glad to hear they are coming back.I've always loved land & sea Turtles. They are beautiful and fun to watch swimming in the ocean in Hawaii. They are big enough to pull you in the water but they say that it's not healthy to do that because it strains & stresses the animal so I just watch them when I am scuba diving or snorkeling in a Lagoon. Here are the five species that live in the island waters.

http://wildhawaii.org/marinelife/turtles.html
 
Calvin Robinson said:
I'm sure there is way more food per acre for them here than in the desert,I would guess that the population denisity has always been higher here than there.
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There's tons for them too eat here. I don't think that's the problem. Prickly pear cactus are one of the staples for lot of the desert wildlife and those are doing great. Most people would be surprised how rich the land is here. You'd be lucky to see one tortoise on 1,000 acre though.

The acre I'm set on, must be at least 30 squirrels, 20 rabbits and over 50 dove and quail etc... and those aren't just passing through. Lots of javelina, coyotes, bobcats, deer, reptiles etc., passing through this area. We've identified over 50 species of birds on this acre over time. It would be hard to starve out here.

All the construction and development has taking it's toll on some critters though. Millions wind up as road kill, especially the slow moving ones. I think folks killed off the chuckwallas, because they look similar to gila monsters.

The problem here isn't with numbers so much, it's with the balance of nature.

I think your are lucky to have had a mom that cooked you a tortoise... Mine wouldn't consider it, but there were peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
 
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I like your turtle story Calvin- I guess turtle is delicious but have never tasted it.
I once hauled a MO Terrapin back to CO while on vacation with parents as a 14 year old, and let him go in a nearby lake, never to be seen again.
Here in CO the only turtles you see are large snapping turtles. I rescued a large snapper once that was trying to cross a busy street west of town- came up behind him and picked him up and walked him down to the river that was 100 yards away and let him swim under the road. He was initally really mad and tried to bite me then he resigned his situation and just let his legs and head hang down as I carried him. I've always liked how primitive they look with the spiked tail and all.
 
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