California Desert Tortoise
- Scientific name: Gopherus agassizii
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Chordata
- Class: Sauropsid
- Order: Testudines
- Family: Testudinoidea
- Genus: Gopherus
- Species: G. agassizii
Fun Facts
- These tortoises are able to live where ground temperatures may exceed 140 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Wild populations have declined by 90% since the 1980s.
- Ravens cause more than 50% of juvenile desert threatened species tortoise deaths in some areas of the Mojave Desert.
- They eat a variety of desert plants, although forbs and green vegetation are what they prefer.
- They live 60 to 100 years.
- They can grow 9 to 15 inches and weigh 8 to 15 pounds. (Listed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
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