Once known as 'Hoover chickens,' the long-lived gopher tortoises are now at the center of a growing conservation battle.

The state-designated threatened gopher tortoise may be in more trouble than previously thought with the International Union ...

The devastating Hurricane Helene arrived at Florida’s Big Bend region in late September 2024. Unfortunately, the category four storm brought much damage through massive flooding, intense tornadoes, ...

The International Union for Conservation of Nature has upgraded the gopher tortoise’s fragility rating from vulnerable to ...

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Though gopher tortoises have persisted for millions of years, they now face a barrage of threats from loss of habitat and developers with permits that allow the reptiles to be buried ...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Gopher tortoises imperiled by loss of habitat largely caused by human development should be placed on the endangered species list in four southern states, environmental groups ...

See more of our trusted coverage when you search. Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. A tortoise that was shot with a pellet gun, narrowly missing its heart, ...

The Gopher Tortoise may have legal protection but that means nothing these days. It’s easier and cheaper for developers to fill in their burrows effectively burying them alive or leaving them homeless ...

Foresters take their responsibility to guard protected species seriously. When it comes to the gopher tortoise, a keystone species whose burrow provides shelter to more than 300 other types of forest ...

The fate of the gopher tortoise, Georgia’s state reptile and the only land tortoise in the eastern U.S., has worried conservationists for decades. Habitat loss and other factors have pushed ...

Gopher tortoises are a critical part of the Florida landscape. Native to the southeastern United States, they support more than 300 other organisms by building large underground burrows that protect ...