What to Know
- San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance and The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens partnered on a conservation project focused on the critically endangered Mojave desert tortoise
- Some seventy tortoises just successfully emerged from their new burrows near Edwards Air Force Base earlier in April 2024
- The hatchlings were reared, in part, at The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens in Palm Desert before being introduced to a native habitat
BABY ANIMALS... fill all people with all of the furry feelings — we'll just make that assumption, though "awww"-sumption may be more apt — and encountering a sweet snapshot of a bitty kitty, a bear cub, or gangly-legged giraffe prompts every heart to beat just a little faster. But sometimes simply hearing a word related to young critters can prompt us to grow emotional. Take "hatchling," a wonderful word that grows even more wonderful — wonderfuller? — when it is attached to a success story.
"A FIGHTING CHANCE": Seventy critically endangered Mojave desert tortoise hatchlings were raised at both The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens in Palm Desert and Edwards Air Force Base, with both indoor rearing and protected outdoor rearing giving these youngsters opportunities to thrive. The process began when scientists gathered eggs laid by wild desert tortoises that have been monitored; after hatchlings emerge under the care of scientists, they can grow even bigger than they might in the wild. Introducing the tortoises to "the wild" is the ultimate goal of the team, however, and the dozens of hand-reared youngsters recently emerged from their new burrows near the base. "By reintroducing the tortoises into native habitat when they are no longer at their most vulnerable, conservationists are giving juvenile tortoises a fighting chance at survival — as evidenced by the success of the first reintroduced cohort," shared the team.
"POSITIVE NATURAL BEHAVIORS": The tiny torts took to their burrows well, is the hope-filled report. "Within 24 hours of reentering their native habitat, the tortoises were exhibiting positive natural behaviors by constructing new burrows or modifying existing burrows for shelter," shared the scientists. "Now, six months later, they have emerged after winter brumation — a state of deep sleep specific to reptiles — and are spending more time basking at burrow entrances." The team will continue to observe the tortoises, "conducting health assessments" and monitoring the growing animals as they roam free.
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DESERT TORTOISE LOVE: While these now-wild youngsters are not on view to the public, for obvious reasons, you can spy shell-rocking celebrities at both the San Diego Zoo and The Living Desert. The Palm Desert animal park is home to Mojave Maxine, a desert tortoise that "predicts" spring when she finally concludes her cold-weather brumation and emerges from her burrow.
