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Article: The disappearing gopher tortoise.
- Article from:
- Sarasota Magazine
- Article date:
- June 22, 1995
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1995 Clubhouse Publishing, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The gopher, as it's called here in Florida, is certainly one of the most affable reptiles in our state, and yet one of the most abused as well.
Using its shovel-like front legs, the gopher digs a burrow in the sandy soil of open fields and woodlands. The burrow is 15 feet long by seven feet deep and wide enough for the tortoise (whose shell is around 10 inches long and about 15 inches in circumference) to turn around at any point. Almost as soon as the burrow is finished, rabbits, eastern diamondback rattlesnakes, burrowing owls, beetles and three different species of flies move in. All in all, an amazing 350 different ...