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This desert animal is especially vulnerable during monsoon rains

George Andrejko/Arizona Game and Fish Department
Most desert tortoises stay in the same small area their entire lives. Moving them could kill them.

When monsoon rains come, so does the desert wildlife. Animals come out looking for mates or water, or they could be escaping flooding. One animal is especially vulnerable.

They’re slow, they’re kind of cute, they’re the desert tortoises. And according to the Arizona Game and Fish Department, there are a few things you should know about these creatures.

First, taking a wild desert tortoise home is illegal. These animals typically stay in the same area for their entire lives. Moving them could kill them.

They also live a long time, like 50 years or more, so if you have one and can no longer keep it, Dale Hajek with Game and Fish says do not release it into the wild.

"Captive animals — captive tortoises — can pass disease onto wild populations. It's also illegal to release captive desert tortoises," he explained. 

Hajek says tortoises can be turned into Game and Fish’s adoption program.

  • Interested in adopting? Visit the Game and Fish website.
  • If a desert tortoise is seen crossing a busy road in a populated area, call AZGFD’s Tortoise Adoption Program hotline at 1-844-896-5730. A determination will be made whether the desert tortoise “escaped” and needs to be reunited with its owner, or surrendered to the adoption program.
KJZZ senior field correspondent Kathy Ritchie has 20 years of experience reporting and writing stories for national and local media outlets — nearly a decade of it has been spent in public media.
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