Florida is home to plenty of species that need no introduction: alligators, crocodiles, panthers, or manatees. However, a silent sentinel lies within burrows of Florida’s grounds. The gopher tortoise ...

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 ...

A rescued gopher tortoise arrived at the Nokuse Nature Preserve in Florida’s Panhandle while my sister Erica and I were there. It didn’t know how lucky it was. Across Florida, builders are required to ...

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 Resources on ...

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 ...

Not so long ago, one Georgia species was in critical danger of extinction, but in 2022 for the ecosystem, The US Fish and Wildlife Service declared the gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus)to be no ...

When Samantha S. and her family bought just over 2 acres in Middleburg, FL, in September 2021, they thought they’d found the perfect place to put down roots. The wooded lot, just minutes from Jennings ...

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 ...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Gopher tortoises imperiled by loss of habitat largely caused by human development should be placed on the endangered species list in four southern states, environmental ...

“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: ...