Introducing the Urban Gopher Tortoise

WGCU DOT ORG. THEY HAVE BECOME A POPULAR AMBASSADOR FOR THE FLORIDA ECOSYSTEM, BUT CONFLICTING REPORTS ARE RAISING THE ALARM ON THE FUTURE OF THE GOPHER TORTOISE, THE INTERNATIONAL UNION OF CONSERVATION OF NATURE RECENTLY CHANGED THE STATUS OF THE GOPHER TORTOISE FROM VULNERABLE TO CRITICALLY ENDANGERED BUT IN FLORIDA, THE GOPHER TORTOISE REMAINS PROTECTED AS A THREATENED SPECIES IN THE PAST CENTURY GOPHER TORTOISE HABITAT HAVE DECLINED BY MORE THAN 60% BECAUSE ACCORDING TO FWC OTHER HIGH, DRY NESTING LOCATIONS HAVE BEEN TARGETED AS PRIME LOCATIONS BY DEVELOPERS AND THEY HAVE REDUCED THE GOPHER TORTOISE POPULATION TO AROUND 700,000. >> TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE GOPHER TORTOISE, I AM JOINED BY CHERYL ANDERSON. SHE'S THE PRESIDENT OF THE CAPE CORAL WILDLIFE TRUST. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING ME TODAY. THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME. FIRST. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE A GOPHER TORTOISE FOR SOMEONE WHO'S NEVER SEEN ONE AND WHAT MAKES THEM SO SPECIAL? A GOPHER TORTOISE. >> LOOKS LIKE MOST TOWARD US IS THAT YOU WOULD SEE LIKE A SMALL VERSION OF A GALAPAGOS TORTOISE RIGHT? BUT WHAT MAKES THEM SO SPECIAL IN FLORIDA IS THAT THEY ARE KNOWN AS A KEYSTONE SPECIES. THAT MEANS THAT OTHER SPECIES AS WELL AS OUR NATIVE FLORIDA ENVIRONMENT DEPENDS ON THE GOPHER TORTOISE FOR ITS EXISTENCE. 350 OTHER SPECIES. NEWS GOPHER, TORTOISE BURROWS. SO IT'S KEY TO THE SURVIVAL OF THE FLORIDA ENVIRONMENT AND HABITAT. >> NOW THE INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE. >> JUST RECENTLY ELEVATED THEIR CONSERVATION STATUS FROM THREATEN TO CRITICALLY ENDANGERED. BUT THE STATE OF FLORIDA HAS THEM CLASSIFIED AS THREATENED. CAN YOU EXPLAIN WHAT DISTINGUISHES THOSE 2 CLASSIFICATION, AL IT IT IT THERE'S DIFFERENT. THERE'S DIFFERENT RESTRICTIONS AND DIFFERENT. THE >> RULES REGARDING THREATENED SPECIES AND ENDANGERED SPECIES. >> AND IT'S AN EXTREMELY COMPLICATED PROCESS. SO WE GO. WE REALLY DON'T WANT THAT RIGHT NOW IN THE CITY OF CAPE CORAL, THE CITY ITSELF HAS ADOPTED THE FLORIDA WILDLIFE COMMISSION RULES AND WE HAVE VERY GOOD RULES AND CODES THAT CONTROL THE GOPHER TORTOISES IN THE CITY OF CAPE CORAL. AND SO, YOU KNOW, WE WE ARE DEALING WITH A SPECIES THAT IS WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO IN OUR STUDY TO HAVE. DESIGNATED AS A DIFFERENT SPECIES CALLED THE URBAN GOPHER TORTOISE. OKAY. NOW MOST PEOPLE, MOST SCIENTISTS AND I'M SURE THIS GROUP YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT ARE TALKING ABOUT THE GOPHER TORTOISES THAT LIVE IN RURAL AREAS AND THE PINE FLAT LANDS OF THEY EXTEND UP INTO GEORGIA. YOU KNOW, AND AND BE ON FLORIDA. THE RANGE, OF COURSE, WAS MUCH LARGER BEFORE ALL THE DEVELOPMENTS STARTED. WE CONTEND THAT HOUR. TORTOISES. AS WELL AS OUR BURROWING OWLS ARE LIKE A SUB SPECIES THAT WE WOULD TERM OR BUNT BECAUSE THEY HAVE LEARNED TO AND ADAPTED TO LIVING WITH PEOPLE IN AN URBAN ENVIRONMENT. THAT'S QUITE UNIQUE. >> SO IF THIS TORTOISE CAN BE RENAMED, THIS URBAN GOPHER TORTOISES, SOUNDS LIKE YOU THINK THAT WILL LOOSEN RULES AND RESTRICTIONS. THEY WILL ALLOW TO CONTINUE TO THRIVE IN CAPE CORAL IN THIS HIGH DENSITY AREA. THAT'S OUR HOPE. >> ABOUT 10 YEARS AGO, DOCTOR JOHN, FROM AN FGCU. AND SUPPORTED BY THE CAPE CORAL FRIENDS OF WILDLIFE STUDY, 10 GOPHER TORTOISES FOR A YEAR AND PUT RADIO TRANSMITTERS ON THEM. AND PUT CAMERAS IN FRONT OF THEIR BURROWS. AUTOMATIC PICTURE CAMERAS SO THAT WHEN AN ANIMAL WITH BY WOULD TRIGGER THE PICTURE RIGHT? AND HE AND HIS STUDENTS STUDIED THEM FOR A YEAR THEIR CONCLUSION WAS THAT THEY'RE HEALTHY. THEY'RE FINE. THEY'RE LIVING NORMAL LIVES ANEW. AND THEY WERE ABOUT A QUARTER OF AN ACRE SPOT IN THE CAPE. AND THAT WAS 10 TORTOISES. AND HOW LUCKY WE ARE TO HAVE THEM HERE. TEACHING US HOW TO ADAPT TO LIVING IN AN URBAN ENVIRONMENT. >> THEY HAVE FOUND THEIR PARADISE IN CAPE CORAL. IT TRULY ONE LAST QUESTION. WHAT'S THE NEXT STEP IN THE PROCESS? WELL, YOUR STUDY, IT'S GETTING THE PERMIT. OKAY. WE'VE APPLIED. AND THEN THEY SAID, WELL, WE NEED MORE STAFF. BUT I AM VERY STRONGLY FEEL IF WE COULD GET A GOOD VIDEO. OUT ON ONE OF OUR PRESERVES SHOWING THE NUMBER OF TORTOISES AND OWLS. THE FIVE-MINUTE VIDEO RIGHT, THAT IF WE COULD SHOW THAT TO THE GOPHER TORTOISE COUNCIL OF THE PEOPLE THAT FWC THAT. YOU WOULDN'T NEED 100 PAGES OF DATA. YOU COULD JUST SEE IT WITH YOUR EYES. AND I WILL TELL YOU THE PEOPLE THAT LIVE NEXT TO OUR PRESERVES. THEY WATCH OUT FOR THE TORTOISES. THEY LOVE THE TORTOISES. THE PRESERVES AND THE ANIMALS ARE VERY POPULAR WITH THE RESIDENTS OF CAPE CORAL. THANK YOU. YOU'RE WELCOME.