TheBanyanTree: Tortoise

[NancyIee at aol.com]

We saved him from a certain death on the highway. I picked him up (or her) 
put him (or her) in the back of the pickup, and took him (or her) home.

Now he wanders at will our ten acres.  I understand they do not swim in water 
like regular turtles. He (or she) lives in the brush, coming out at night (or 
during the day) to graze the new-sprouted grass.  However, OUR tortoise has 
learned he (or she) can maybe steal a bite or two from Jenny, our dog.

Jenny used to leave a few bits of her breakfast in the grass, then lay and 
wait for the tortoise to come along, thinking .. yum yum.  But, the shell was 
too hard to bite, and the tortoise bit back, and it was just too danged much 
trouble in the heat to harass the tortoise. So, Jenny lays and waits, then 
watches as the tortoise comes out of the brush and nibbles, slowly, at the leftover 
dog food.

It is a Gopher Tortoise, and endangered species, we learned.  It is about the 
size of a sandwich plate, and has a face like a 100 year old person, and a 
map pattern on its shell.

Some G.T. have a respritory illness. In land about to be developed, they 
gather a few and have them tested for the illness. If they have it, they can be 
plowed  under. Otherwise, they must be moved to another location. Pretty brutal 
for those poor things harboring the illness, say?

God forbid I should cough.  They might plow me under.


NancyLee