Desert Tortoises Up For Adoption

Cowboy_Ken

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Suburban-life in Salem, Oregon
Seemed like the right place for this;

KUTV) Utah wildlife officials are looking for adoptive homes for approximately 40 desert tortoises that can't be returned to their native habitat.

"They make very good pets," said Lynn Chamberlain, southern Utah outreach manager for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.

The Mojave Desert Tortoise is listed as a threatened species, making it illegal to capture or even touch them in the wild. If the DWR receives a tortoise that was removed from the wild by humans it is sent to live at a facility in Washington County.

Once in captivity, the tortoises cannot be returned to the wild, Chamberlain says, because they could possibly introduce diseases contracted while in captivity into the wild populations.

"It's better for somebody to adopt them than to let them die in a facility," said Cornell Christensen with the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve, an organization aimed at recovering the desert tortoise population. "Let somebody enjoy them for a few years."

Christensen says the reptiles are easy to care for and make for a great family pet.

"Their demeanor is very, very calm and collect," he said. "They're not aggressive at all."

While they may be a low-maintenance companion, the desert tortoise requires commitment because they can live upwards of 90 years in captivity.

"This is not like buying a gold fish," Chamberlain said. "If you get one of these tortoises for one of your grandchildren, that tortoise may be alive when that grandchild is a grandparent."

Those living in Iron, Kane and Washington Counties are ineligible to adopt the tortoises because of the risk that the tortoises could escape and reunite with the native tortoise populations.

For more information about adopting a desert tortoise, you can get answers to common questions by reading the DWR's adoption booklet: http://wildlife.utah.gov/pdf/dt_adopt.pdf or by contacting the DWR at 801-538-4746 or by email to [email protected].

By Ladd Egan

(Copyright 2014 Sinclair Broadcasting Group)
For video http://kutv.com/news/top-stories/stories/a-unique-pet-desert-tortoises-up-adoption-9476.shtml


Anyone here in Utah?
 

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