Desert Tortoise

Gun enthusiasts use them for target practice on desert backroads. ATV and dirt bike riders recklessly run them over. Some folks pick them up out of curiosity, transmitting an often fatal upper respiratory tract disease, which is spread by human contact. Some cultures even eat them.

The desert tortoise habitat has been among the Mojave Desert's Joshua trees and creosote bushes for thousands of years. Today, only 15 percent of desert tortoises make it past their second year.

Sure, ravens and coyotes account for many of the California desert tortoise deaths. But humans are fast approaching the mark as one of the desert tortoise's most destructive predators.

In 1990, the desert tortoise was listed as "threatened" because disease, habitat deterioration, development and other human activities caused their numbers to drop. Officials want the tortoise population to rebound so the animal can be delisted by 2019.

Tortoise meat is considered a delicacy in Cambodia, where the animals are regularly eaten or used in folk medicines, as musical instruments or decorations. In 1993, two Cambodian nationals were found guilty and fined $5000 each for the poaching of nine desert tortoises they intended to consume at a wedding ceremony.

Under the Endangered Species Act, anyone who takes, harasses, hunts, captures, shoots or kills a desert tortoise is subject to civil and criminal penalties of up to $50,000 or one year in jail.

"I hope they throw the book at them. I really do," said Carleen Newman, an animal lover who founded Phelan's Desert Haven Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in 1990. Newman spent years donating her time, money and love to the desert tortoise and other injured creatures that needed assistance. Today, she raises kishu ken dogs in Texas.

Newman said that the Mojave desert tortoise lives approximately 100 years, and contrary to popular belief, they do drink water. "If it rains, naturally they will go for any source of water. Otherwise, they store moisture in their bladder," said Newman. "They have a method of filtering the water, which prevents bladder fluids from becoming toxic over a period of time."

Newman warns people not to pick up a baby desert tortoise or any other tortoises they might find in the wild. "A tortoise that is frightened or picked up will automatically release their stored water. It's a fear response," she said. "If this happens in the dry summer months, he may not make it. He may not be able to replenish that moisture and could dehydrate and die."

Newman has become quite an expert at desert tortoise care. In the wild, a desert tortoise diet of grass, weeds and perhaps cactus. As a supplement, Newman often feeds her tortoises broccoli, which they thoroughly enjoy.

To learn more about the desert tortoise, and perhaps see some in the wild, visit the Desert Tortoise Natural Area in the western Mojave Desert in northeastern Kern County. Operated by the BLM and Desert Tortoise Preserve Committee, the 25,000-acre preserve is best visited during the spring, when you can visit an interpretive kiosk and hike the trails where you'll hopefully catch a glimpse of the desert tortoises.

The preserve is located 4 miles north of California City on the Randsburg-Mojave Road, about 2 hours north of Los Angeles. For more information or directions, visit www.tortoise-tracks.org

Credit: Stock photos of desert tortoises by bosshogg / stock.xchng