The Alabama News Center — On National Gopher Tortoise Day and beyond, Alabama Power protects animal and its habitat

By: Donna Cope

Thursday, April 10, is National Gopher Tortoise Day – a time to celebrate this amiable creature that makes its home in open, sandy areas. The gopher tortoise is found in Alabama and other parts of the Southeast.

Alabama’s only native tortoise species is remarkably long-lived, surviving up to 70 years, said Jeff Baker, Environmental Affairs specialist at Alabama Power. Because its presence benefits other species, the gopher tortoise is known as a “keystone species.”

“The gopher tortoise likes open, sandy habitats,” Baker said. “They have these really complex social interactions. Each tortoise can have multiple burrows that it will visit, and you can tell by burrow size when there are multiple age classes in a population. These healthy populations are important to those social interactions.”

The Alabama Weather Blog is pleased to present an excerpt from a featured article in partnership with the Alabama News Center. For the full post including images, videos, and related links, please visit the article HERE.

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