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)