You'd think by now, that desert tortoises would be tucked away in their burrows as winter nears; but it's not so--at least not this past weekend when the daytime temps hovered in the 70s and 80s and the nighttime lows remained quite comfortable.Over the three-day holiday, my family and I were in Wonder Valley, an unincorporated community outside of 29 Palms. While wandering the desert and digging up invasive mustard plants, my husband came across this large tortoise. "She" was lumbering along quite happily, munching on little plants that had just sprung up from a previous rain. Seeing her created a lot of excitement--even with young teens, who came running to get a glimpse.
Spotting this threatened species was one of the highlights of our short trip away. We also had sightings of a jackrabbit, red racer, rattlesnake and numerous lizards. Oh yes, and a spectacular sunset on Sunday evening (sorry no pics of this).
photos by Bruce I. Lissak
"Desert Tortoise"
"Prickly Mess"
Learn more about the Mojave desert tortoise (Genus: Gopherus
Species: agassizii):
National Park Service Desert Tortoise info
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