I used to have a sulcata tortoise who would dig burrows on our yard. I would look inside these tunnels and be amazed how deep it goes. He would also come out of the burrow when I call out his name. RIP Benjamin, I miss ya little buddy.
My mother breeds tortoises not Gofurs but spurthighs and when their all warmed up from the sun they really do move alot faster than you would think so i guess when running from the heat of fire they really can sprint lol
when i saw that i nearly burst in tears, seeing the animals being safe from the fire and that the turtles share the burrows with the animals to take shelter, the turtles are heroes
As a native Floridian I am aware of these wonderful creatures ! Had them in my suburban neighborhood in the 50's-70's on the empty lots. I doubt they are around much now. I saved quite a few in my life and most had been hit by vehicles, but did survive with help from a wildlife rehabilitator. Some don't realize the difference between a water loving turtle and a tortoise, but the tortoise is Not in the water. I'm amazed they can build in the soil of most of Florida, it's so sandy, but does become less so as you go deeper. Thank You for covering one of my favorite animals in the world ! Let's help protect them, they are so worthy!!
The FWC helps preserve the area that they are in I was told if you notify them and let them know that 1 is living in the area they cannot build around that area anymore . Sorry this text is kind of awkward I'm doing talk to text
@@AFloridaSon Correct me if I'm wrong, but there was a law protecting them that said businesses who were building on a space had to check for them and remove them or call for removal. THEN the law was amended so that the company could just pay a fee and bulldoze. Which I think is horrible and bends to a company and not wildlife. I mean, the tortoise will die an agonizing and slow death if buried alive.
@@KindCountsDeb3773 So yes and no, depending on the habitat. I work for an environmental consulting company here in Florida, and work with these guys on an almost daily basis. Before an area can be developed, a site assessment needs to occur way before anything can be dug up/bulldozed/removed. If a site assessment comes back and we see that there's suitable habitat for Gopher Tortoises, the property owner needs to pay for a survey from a qualified company (With qualified Gopher Tortoise Agents - Basically people licensed and trained to survey, capture, and transport these guys). We then conduct a survey (which is a fancy way of saying that we walk every square foot of the property) and mark burrows based on if they're 'potentially occupied' or 'abandoned'. We come back after the survey and dig up the potentially active burrows using hand shovels and excavators (We're SUPER careful when an excavator is used!) and relocate the tortoises to a recipient site where they live permanently. Once all burrows on the property are excavated and we're sure there's no more, we give the green light to start development!
Turtle: "Hey rattler you got the rent for this month" Snake: "I'm gonna be a little late boss" Turtle: "You better get the hell out my tunnel til you got the rent money."
Yes. I wonder, if the earth's populace, all creatures, were in their proper "alignment" or balanced coexistence, it really would work so much better and more safety and happiness for all. It's not a new concept, but we keep screwing with it. We don't listen much.
Fun fact: tortoises and turtles aren't actually always slow. They can haul ass with impressive speed when they want to, but most of the time they don't have to so the just leisurely walk around at a slow pace. I remember my grandparents caught a tortoise for me and my brother to play with and it sprinted the hell away from us faster than we could chase it.
Seriously though. my two Russian tortoises are fast. Probably because they are the smallest type of tortoise though-- they don't have to carry much weight
Why do I love tortoises way more after watching this video, they make amazing homes and they are so chill if someone else Is chilling with them in the house They’ve saved so many lives ❤️
Turtles are best in preparation for apocalypse, while whole other lots are enjoying, turtle builds their safe houses which are used by others at time of need.. great social work by turtle.. respect bro
All tortoises are turtles, but not all turtles are tortoises. In the UK, we make a distinct difference whereby the US uses the more generic term turtle, hence the Mutant ninja turtles.
eyg24 some loser boy was busted by the Law at Seabranch State Park, for stealing two Gopher Tortoises. He said he was going to eat them. The Law needs to throw the book at him.
@@allaroundamazing7007 wrong it's almost completely obvious that that fire was man made specifically for a reenactment putting real animal lives in danger.
Poor tortoise. Attenborough stalked him him with a robot, records his ever movements, then set his backyard on fire. I wonder what it be like if he did it to actual people ;P
antromy Next stop: Detroit. Except the snakes those resident animals share a community with are the democrats and they set their own environment on fire when they don't get there way
Yep! And in Aus we regularly perform "back-clearing" which is deliberate but controlled fire to remove most of the dried leaves and other fuel, so that when a natural bushfire occurs it is less devastating.
Fires are often set to do a controlled.burn. Fire is a normal part of most natural areas but we have been suppressing them so long that often uncontrolled fires burn too hot or endanger human stuff hence controlled burns.
monye igwe yeah .. most animals are more intelligent than for whatever reason , humans seem to realize. Not sure why people fail to realize that so often but they do !
Thanks for showing the real Florida and not the "Hollywood Set" that many a developer likes to build. I remember well as a kid following the tortoises and armadillos as a child and withdrawing with great acceleration from the rattlers ;) .
I used to have a huge one of these as a pet fifty years ago when I was a kid. They weren't protected back then that I know of . They will also breed in captivity. I kept mine for years before releasing it back into a longleaf preserve with the help of a professor at Georgia Southern University.
Hunh? We humans pretty much mess up the rest of the animal (and plant) kingdom wherever we go. Then we set aside land to protect the shit we already messed up, then we hem and haw and go ahead and mine it, dam it, cut it down, poison it, etc etc, whatever suits our momentary interests. The rest of the living world would be a lot better off without our interference. Then again, you may have making your statement with a layer of sarcasm/irony : )
If I was that tortoise, I'd be charging some rent from other animals to stay in my burrow. You want to hang out here come noon? Best bring me a salad, buster.
My parents always said that if my school teachers could have captivated me the way Sir David Attenborough always could, I'd have got all straight A's hahah
snakes and other reptiles dont actually yawn because they don't breathe in exactly the same way mammals do, your snake is probably readjusting their jaw after eating!
