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So, yesterday as I was backing out of the driveway I discovered that a large gopher tortoise had decided to take a nap under my car. Fortunately I did not run over him as I was backing up, although he appears to have been partially crushed at some point in the past as there is some damage to his shell in the front. I didn't want to leave him out in the middle of the driveway, so I carefully picked him up and moved him to the hedges in front of our house under the dining room window. Gopher tortoises are an endangered species and protected by law in the state of Florida. The law is very specific in that you are not allowed to relocate or interfere with a gopher tortoise in any way. If you see one in a dangerous situation like a roadway, you are supposed to move them to safety as close as possible to where you found them. Apparently relocating them any distance at all is actually very dangerous to their health.
So anyway, I halfway expected him to be gone by the time I got back home. I was pleasantly surprised to see him still hanging out in our shrubbery several hours later. Since then he has moved around a bit, and for a little while this afternoon he actually came out onto our porch and then started knocking on our door. I kid you not. He was up on his hind legs, leaning into the door, and repeatedly banging on it with his beak.
So, I have started calling him The Mighty Tortuga, and apparently he lives in our hedge. Who knows how long he will stick around. Apparently we are not allowed to even feed him, although I gather that being a herbivore he can survive just fine munching on our lawn. I expect at some point he will wander away again. Given his size, and given that a tortoise only grows about 1 inch per year, he is probably almost 20 years old, maybe more. He seems to have done a fine job taking care of himself so far, so I suppose he will be fine in the long run.
So anyway, I halfway expected him to be gone by the time I got back home. I was pleasantly surprised to see him still hanging out in our shrubbery several hours later. Since then he has moved around a bit, and for a little while this afternoon he actually came out onto our porch and then started knocking on our door. I kid you not. He was up on his hind legs, leaning into the door, and repeatedly banging on it with his beak.
So, I have started calling him The Mighty Tortuga, and apparently he lives in our hedge. Who knows how long he will stick around. Apparently we are not allowed to even feed him, although I gather that being a herbivore he can survive just fine munching on our lawn. I expect at some point he will wander away again. Given his size, and given that a tortoise only grows about 1 inch per year, he is probably almost 20 years old, maybe more. He seems to have done a fine job taking care of himself so far, so I suppose he will be fine in the long run.