A large desert tortoise was rescued from an Arizona highway after it escaped from an ostrich farm about 3 miles away, NBC News reported on August 11.
How long does it take for a desert tortoise to cross to the other side of a highway in southern Arizona?
That remains a mystery after an Arizona Department of Public Safety trooper rescued a desert tortoise that tried to cross Interstate 10 near Picacho in the state.
According to authorities, a motorist called on July 30 to report a tortoise attempting to cross the busy highway connecting Casa Grande and Tucson in Pinal County.
The motorist and Arizona Department of Public Safety Sergeant Steven Sekrecki managed to safely remove the tortoise from the road.
Stitch the Turtle and the 2 People Who Found Him on the Highway./ PHOTO: ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY
The Arizona Republic reported that Sergeant Sekrecki spotted the word “Stitch” on the turtle’s shell and called an ostrich farm about 3 miles away. The farm confirmed that the turtle, named Stitch, was a resident animal and had somehow escaped from its home.
The turtle was then brought back to the farm, ending the animal’s failed escape.
Desert Tortoise: Scientific Name, Characteristics, and Behavior
The desert tortoise, scientifically known as Gopherus agassizii, belongs to the Testudinae family and Reptilia class. The name “Gopherus” reflects its burrowing habits, while “Agassizii” is named after zoologist Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz, who studied tortoises in North America. In terms of appearance, desert tortoises have a brown or gray upper shell and a yellow or light brown undershell, and range in size from 8 to 15 inches in length and 4 to 6 inches in height, weighing from 8 to 15 pounds. The largest recorded was 17 inches long and weighed 26 pounds. They have small black eyes and ears, along with eardrums located on the neck. Desert tortoises have powerful front legs, with sharp claws that help them move over dry ground.
In terms of behavior, desert tortoises are solitary, only mating during the breeding season, but sometimes sharing tunnels with others in the winter. Notably, they have the ability to store water in their bladders to survive the dry conditions of the desert.
