A Desert Tortoise
A Desert Tortoise
This is our fifth winter here in Arizona, and we have never seen a desert tortoise. We did find bits and pieces of a shell earlier this year, but that’s the closest we have come. Until our Sunday afternoon stroll through the desert.
We were walking along and Torrey went over to look at something. I called her and she was hesitant to come to me, which is kinda unusual. We could see she was looking at something, but couldn’t tell right away what it was. So we walked toward her, and were shocked to find a tortoise. We never would have found it if not for Torrey, so yeah for her! I snapped the photo above with my cell phone, because of course that’s all I had. I also used this photo for the Dogwood 52 prompt of Storytelling-Perspective. The tortoise’ perspective was pretty low to the ground.
I went back to the same spot yesterday afternoon, because we could see he had a dug himself a den right there. They are just coming out of hibernation, so I don’t think he is going very far.
I did a little Wikipedia reading, and found out they are threatened…which I knew. But I also found out they live 50-80 years, and can have a home range of 10-100 acres. Which seems like a lot for a slow moving creature.
I’m so glad we saw him, what a fun find.
My other 52 week photo challenges this week are, Out in Nature, for 2LilOwls.
And Black and White for the Pet Photography. Torrey is a great model for black and white. I then added the textured background to hide the chair she was in.
Proving yet again, you never know what you’re going to find in nature.
that would be the perfect friend for Hell-mut the tortoise ;o)
You find such a rich source of hidden beauty, Mary.
Who would think of finding a tortoise in the desert? I though they lived near water? The are cool to see.
Love love love the b&w of Torrey! That tortoise was a fabulous find, I love the second pic where he seems to be looking at you like “What?! This is how we live here! …And wait til I tell the family about these two-legged things I saw!” ;)
Congratulations with coming across a desert tortoise. Must have been exciting. I hope you enjoy the stay in Arizona.
The tortoise is so cool! I love your other photos too, of course; especially Roxie in the pretty flowers….she looks so zen.
That’s so cool that you saw a tortoise! Wow, I had no idea they lived that long or traveled that far! Super cool!
I have a desert tortoise, but don’t worry, I didn’t steal him from the desert. He has yet to emerge from his burrow but the fact that you saw a wild one makes me think Pistachio will be making an appearance any day. I have always wanted to see a wild one. That’s amazing. About the one thing I remember reading about wild ones is to not bother or startle them as if they release their bladder it can mean death for them without a water source to replenish it.
I learned that when I read about them. So interesting. I’m quite certain this particular one is fine though, no people around here to bother him.
Hello, what a great find. Thanks to Torrey! Love the tortoise photos and your cute dogs. Enjoy your day!
The desert tortoise is SO cool. What a long time to live and an odd way of living! Thanks for sharing!
Such a clear shot of the Tortoise. They can live 50-80 yrs, wow! Torrey is a beautiful model! :)