Slow And Steady? Not For This Burrowing Tortoise

Though it appears to carry its home on its back, 地鼠龟大部分时间都在地下近12英尺的地方度过.

Nestled deep in burrows beneath the sandhill coastal plains, 地鼠龟鼓舞了全国各地的环保人士. That’s because in October 2022, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced 在美国东南部的大部分地区，地鼠龟不再是濒临灭绝的物种.

“It’s a huge success story that everyone could kind of rally around,” said Lisa Lord, a conservation programs director for the Longleaf Alliance该组织致力于确保长叶松生态系统的可持续未来.

在某种程度上，数量的反弹反映了自然资源保护主义者的巨大合作努力. 其中包括地鼠龟保护倡议的承诺 purchase and protect 100,000 acres of gopher tortoise habitat.

保护地鼠龟的紧迫性并不是错位的，因为这不是一种普通的爬加拿大28回水物.

Finding Friends Amid the Flames

地鼠龟的名字很贴切，它以善于挖掘而闻名. 平均而言，陆龟的洞穴可以延伸到10英尺深，30英尺长. Jason Alstad, a land stewardship coordinator for the Georgia Conservancy 这个凉爽、黑暗的洞穴是地鼠龟和它的许多朋友喜欢的地方.

“You find everything from rattlesnakes to crickets, 几乎任何你能想到的东西都在试图摆脱夏天的炎热, taking refuge in there,” Alstad said.

超过350种不同的动物和昆虫依赖于地鼠龟挖出的地下隧道. As an herbivore, the tortoise is a well-behaved host, uninterested in eating or threatening its visitors. 事实上，人们很容易相信乌龟可能只是喜欢陪伴.

The gopher tortoise is native to the Longleaf Pine ecosystem, a now-scarce forest type that once dominated the American Southeast. The Arbor Day Foundation 从事多个重新造林项目，以恢复长叶松和, by extension, the presence of the gopher tortoise. 这对数百种其他野生动物来说是一种解脱，这些野生动物不仅依靠乌龟的洞穴来躲避高温，还依靠乌龟的洞穴来躲避火灾.

In a longleaf pine forest, fire is perceived not as a cause for concern, but as an essential tool to cleanse the ecosystem. However, 大部分长叶松生态系统和地鼠龟的栖息地都在私人土地上, leaving the decision to use prescribed burns to landowners. Alstad承认有时很难说服土地所有者，让他们相信放火烧自己的土地是正确的举动.

“我们有一种规定的火灾短缺，我们没有足够的土地所有者用火来管理他们的栖息地,” Alstad said. “这些规定的火灾，如果处理得当，就会起到它们应该起到的作用. Just like with anything, it’s an education process. You have to educate the landowners.”

By not utilizing prescribed burns, 土地所有者可能会减少生态系统的生物多样性.

“A lot of ground species, 许多地鼠龟赖以为生的牧草和其他草都是用火来促进生长的,” Alstad said.

And by limiting the resources the gopher tortoise needs to thrive, 土地所有者实际上可能会减少动物可以提供的经济利益.

A Ripple Effect

许多土地所有者选择在他们的土地上保护濒危物种 Safe Harbor Agreements. 奖励计划确保私人土地所有者能够管理他们的土地以保护该物种, without the risk of being penalized by endangered species laws.

“我们能够证明你可以管理长叶，你可以同时获得环境效益和经济效益,” Lord explained.

But the benefits of the gopher tortoise pay off in other ways, too. 因为乌龟能够在洞穴里同时容纳捕食者和猎物, 它有助于加强自然秩序，保持生态系统的平衡. 例如，阿尔斯塔德说，东部菱形响尾蛇是乌龟洞穴的常客.

“有些人认为只有死蛇才是好蛇，”阿尔斯塔德说. “In reality, 一只非常大的响尾蛇在地鼠龟的洞穴里，这是一个非常健康的生态系统的标志，(蛇)可以控制很多啮齿动物和其他物种，这些物种可能会来破坏你的庄稼，从经济的角度来看，对你造成严重破坏.”

这只是地鼠龟帮助维系生态系统的一个例子. When you pull at the threads, when you let the gopher tortoise population falter, the environment around it begins to suffer.

阿尔斯塔德说，这就是为什么他对最近地鼠龟数量的反弹感到鼓舞. 他说，这表明环保人士的工作正在产生真正的影响，私人土地所有者正在履行他们作为管家和看护人的职责.

“事实上，这些生产者与(地鼠龟)和谐相处，, it shows that it can work,” Alstad said. “If you can get enough people on the same page, it’s amazing what kind of conservation benefits can come out of it.”