One of Southwest Florida's most beloved reptiles is finally getting celebrated the way it always deserved to be. Gopher Tortoise Day is April 10, with the goal of raising awareness for the threatened ...

ATLANTA — The Georgia Gopher Tortoise Initiative has successfully reached its goal of permanently protecting 65 viable gopher tortoise populations, as announced by the Georgia Department of Natural ...

The fate of the gopher tortoise, Georgia’s state reptile and the only land tortoise in the eastern U.S., has worried conservationists for decades. Habitat loss and other factors have pushed ...

“It was just peaceful and quiet. We loved the area. My aunt actually lives right next door,” she says. “And it would be within the same school district that our kids are in now.” The plan was simple: ...

Listen to a Narrated Version of This Story in the ICYMI Series for the Line Life Podcast Wes Graham holds up his hand like a sergeant halting his squad. “See him? There he is,” he said. The ...

GAINSVILLE, FLA – To improve my chances, and because wandering around sandy scrub at dawn yelling ‘tortoise, please’ isn’t a real strategy, I arranged to meet Katherine Saylor, the Southeastern ...

TCPalm environment reporter Timothy O'Hara heard about a proposed Indian River County housing development that could wipe out an unprecedented number of gopher tortoise burrows. Beyond compiling ...

A CASE OF ANIMAL CRUELTY IN VOLUSIA COUNTY. NOW WITH A GOPHER TORTOISE FOUND COVERED IN STRAY INSULATION. IT’S NOW BACK IN THE WILD AFTER A FULL RECOVERY. WESH TWO VOLUSIA COUNTY REPORTER PAMELA COMME ...

Gopher tortoises are disappearing from Florida, primarily because of habitat destruction that's often tied to residential development. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission via Flickr ...

A Vero Beach man was charged after being found with a gopher tortoise during a traffic stop. Gopher tortoises are a threatened species in Florida and are protected under state law. It is illegal to ...