WANDER 📺 SHORTS: “Gopher”ing home

On a hike the other day, I came across Mr. Gopher headed home after a long day’s work:

I come across Gopher turtles fairly often on my hikes and it’s always a delight to see ’em!

Do be careful when approaching Gopher turtle homes — in the south rattlesnakes are known to co-habituate in the same holes.

BTW, did you know Gopher turtles are considered a keystone species?

In the States, they’re also designated as a threatened species, one step away from endangered status.

Despite that, a few years ago the State of Florida allowed developers to pay a “permit” fee to pave over gopher turtle’s homes, suffocating them. The eventual outrage stopped it, fortunately.

Those buggers can live close up to a hundred years. Amazing.

I’ve deliberately muted these videos so you can experience it as I do as a deaf person in the wild. I know some of you will miss hearing the surrounding audio but think of total silence as different auditory experience.