I couldn’t believe Stephanie when she said that we were going to the Mojave (pronounced Moh-Ha-Vee) Desert. I mean, I have read about the desert tortoises and about Mojave Desert but I didn’t know that we were actually near enough to even have time to go visit it!
Anyway, we drove about an hour and a half to get to the Randsburg-Mojave Road which you MUST turn into if you wanted to see the desert tortoises. We did not make the turn at the junction and we landed ourselves in the middle of a desert on a dirt road in a BMW sports car! We had to go as slowly as 5 miles per hour because the roads weren’t paved and we didn’t want a flat tire when we were in the desert :)
We were given directions to get to the camp ground and we finally made it there, and we were only 30 minutes late! :D
There was a Desert Tortoise Kiosk at the Desert Tortoise Natural Area (DTNA) and in the kiosk, there were lots of information sheets and brochures about programs that were currently being carried out as well as souvenirs and paintings for sale. There was also a Field Researcher (I feel so bad for forgetting her name) who would be there until sometime in June and she would be there to man the kiosk and to answer any questions that visitors might have.
Now, see this burrow?
That is a home for a desert tortoise! We can roughly tell the size of the tortoise by looking at the size of the burrow. A burrow can be up to 12m in length and 3m in depth. Most tortoises stay in their burrows when we were there because it wasn’t exactly warm enough yet. In fact, it was still cold and wind speed was estimated at between 25 to 35 miles per hour.
But we were very lucky :) We managed to see 5 desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) on that particular day, and one of them was spotted on the dirt road (not in the burrow)!
Desert tortoises are thought to live 40 – 60 years. They grow relatively slowly and adult females are larger than adult males (for obvious reasons). They typically breed from April to June and the female tortoises lay between 1 and 11 eggs. Incubation period for eggs varies from 80 to more than 100 days.
Also, check out the video that shows the 360-degree view of the desert (don’t view it if you get dizzy easily):
More pictures of the visit to the Mojave Desert here.
Up next: Let’s go to the (Santa Barbara) Zoo.
You know what else is in the Mojave Desert? Franklin, that’s what! LOL
Glad you enjoyed my part of the world :)
I didn’t know there were turtles in the desert (if you count tortoises as turtles)… I just had to look up the difference.
Wow, that video felt like more than 360°. Weird!
“Turtles” is the general term that we use for all kinds of turtles, and the term “sea turtles” refers to marine turtles. The term “terrapins” refers to aquatic/riverine turtles and the term “tortoises” refers to land turtles.
But then again, the Americans define them differently :D
Awesome photographs and remarkable write up. They are such magnificent creatures whether on land or in water.
The first time I heard about Mojave Desert is not in any book about turtle.
Instead, I read it in some of those fiction / war book.
It wrote about how the army use this dessert as training ground, and they have to keep a look out for these turtles.
LOL
p/s I really pening looking at the video
WOW! WOW! WOW! I AM SO EXCITED AND JEALOUS!! eee… I always like natural things like wildlife. Don’t fancy malls or fine stuffs that much.
WOW!! I thought only camels live in deserts! Oh, I am such a ‘jakun’!
Have fun (=
i just think that tortoises are so amazing, they just have this vibe about them .. this sense of wisdom. you guys are lucky to have seen them :P