Florida’s iconic gopher tortoise is in trouble, experts say. The keystone species, which is vital to ecosystems across six ...

A new report from the International Union for Conservation of Nature revises the gopher tortoise’s status from vulnerable to critically endangered.

Florida is home to plenty of species that need no introduction: alligators, crocodiles, panthers, or manatees. However, a silent sentinel lies within burrows of Florida’s grounds. The gopher tortoise ...

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Boasting more than 80 distinct ecosystems, Florida is a biodiversity hot spot. In fact, more than 4,000 animal species are native ...

GAINSVILLE, FLA – To improve my chances, and because wandering around sandy scrub at dawn yelling ‘tortoise, please’ isn’t a real strategy, I arranged to meet Katherine Saylor, the Southeastern ...

A rescued gopher tortoise arrived at the Nokuse Nature Preserve in Florida’s Panhandle while my sister Erica and I were there. It didn’t know how lucky it was. Across Florida, builders are required to ...

Florida gopher tortoises are a threatened species and 365 others depend on their burrows. Florida development boom is leaving little room for the native land tortoises. Developers may have to relocate ...

For decades, Florida's booming development industry has relied on a controversial conservation strategy to protect one of the state's most iconic reptiles. When construction projects threaten gopher ...

TCPalm environment reporter Timothy O'Hara heard about a proposed Indian River County housing development that could wipe out an unprecedented number of gopher tortoise burrows. Beyond compiling ...

Gopher tortoises are disappearing from Florida, primarily because of habitat destruction that's often tied to residential development. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission via Flickr ...