Desert Tortoise - Predation and Conservation Status

Predation and Conservation Status

Ravens, gila monsters, Kit foxes, badgers, roadrunners, coyotes, and fire ants are all natural predators of the desert tortoise. They prey on eggs, juveniles, which are 2-3 inches long with a thin, delicate shell, or in some cases adults. Ravens are hypothesized to cause significant levels of juvenile tortoise predation in some areas of the Mojave Desert - frequently near urbanized areas. The most significant threats to tortoises include urbanization, disease, habitat destruction and fragmentation, illegal collection and vandalism by humans, and habitat conversion from invasive plant species (Brassica tournefortii, Bromus rubens and Erodium spp).

Desert tortoise populations in some areas have declined by as much as 90% since the 1980s and the Mojave population is listed as threatened. It is unlawful to touch, harm, harass or collect wild desert tortoises. It is, however, possible to adopt captive tortoises through the Tortoise Adoption Program (TAP) in Arizona, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources Desert Tortoise Adoption Program in Utah, in California through the Joshua Tree Tortoise Rescue Project, or through the Bureau of Land Management in Nevada. When adopted in Nevada, they will have a computer chip embedded on their back for reference. According to Arizona Game and Fish Commission Rule R12-4-407 A.1, they may be possessed if the tortoises are obtained from a captive source which is properly documented. Commission Order 43: Reptile Notes 3: one tortoise per family member.

The Fort Irwin National Training Center - the US Army recently expanded into an area that was habitat for approximately 2000 desert tortoises, and contained Critical Desert Tortoise Habitat, (a designation by the US Fish and Wildlife Service). In March 2008, about 650 tortoises were moved by helicopter and vehicle, up to 35 km away. This project was permitted by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. As of October 2008, 90 resident and translocated in the area had died. The second phase of the translocation project will occur in the near future, despite legal challenges filed by the Center of Biological Diversity. The U.S. Army has taken extraordinary measures to protect the Desert Tortoises in the National Training Center area.

Another potential threat to the desert tortoise's habitat is a series of proposed wind and solar farms. As a result of the recent legislation, solar energy companies have been making plans for huge projects in the desert regions of Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, and Utah. The requests turned in to the Bureau of Land Management total nearly 1,800,000 acres (7,300 km2). To put the scope of these projects into perspective, that is enough to cover the state of Rhode Island with solar power plants nearly three times, or 2% of the area of the Sonoran and Mojave deserts.