Wildlife Nation Exclusive Clip: Florida Gold Join host Jeff Corwin on an adventure through central Florida as he helps save threatened gopher tortoises from a new real estate development. Later, Jeff uncovers how gopher tortoises contribute to
Join host Jeff Corwin on an adventure through central Florida as he helps save threatened gopher tortoises from a new real estate development. Later, Jeff uncovers how gopher tortoises contribute to Florida’s entire ecosystem by providing important habitat for many other species. To learn more about the wildlife featured in the episode, visit www.defenders.org/wildlifenation
Video Transcript:
Jeff Corwin:
Our adventure begins in Central Florida, where an amazing species of reptile has lived for
millions of years.
Jeff Corwin:
So friends, right now, we're working with an incredible project, and it's all about rescuing these amazing creatures. This is the incredible, the iconic, gopher tortoise. Kent, I can't think of a more amazing symbol of old wild Florida than this, but today they're in serious trouble. Why are these tortoises disappearing?
Kent Wimmer:
Because of development pressures and land uses that don't protect their habitat.
Jeff Corwin:
In Florida, neighborhoods are popping up left and right. How many people move here every day?
Kent Wimmer:
1,000 people a day.
Jeff Corwin:
To make room for people, means we lose habitat, and a species like this depends on a very specific type of habitat.
Jeff Corwin:
Gopher tortoises are expert diggers. Every year, they dig out several long tunnels deep underground, where they are protected from weather, fires, and predators. And these master excavators play a critical role in Florida's entire ecosystem.
Kent Wimmer:
Gopher tortoises are one of nature's engineers. Over 360 species live in gopher tortoise burrows. They're one of the most important species we have in Florida.
Jeff Corwin:
We've got Kent from Defenders, and we have Carissa who is from Saving Florida's Gopher Tortoises. Carissa, these tunnels can go how many feet?
Carissa Kent:
In the center of the State, they'll go down to 25, 35 feet. They dig to the water table.
Jeff Corwin:
You're talking about 25 feet down.
Carissa Kent:
Correct.
Jeff Corwin:
I'm not talking length-
Carissa Kent:
Length.
Jeff Corwin:
... just down.
Carissa Kent:
Just down.
Jeff Corwin:
This sandy type soil you find in Florida is ideal for tortoises. But, it's also ideal for homesteading,
real estate, and construction, isn't it?
Carissa Kent:
Correct. So the same places that tortoises want to live, humans want to live. So, there has to be a balance there somewhere. So we work on projects, unfortunately, that had an old permit system, where the developers are able to purchase a permit to bury them alive.
Jeff Corwin:
Under Florida regulations, many older gopher tortoise permits still allow developers to destroy their burrows and seal them underground beneath layers of concrete. And many other species that live in their burrows, can be routinely killed.
Jeff Corwin:
This lot, which is home to gopher tortoises, is now going to be ripped up, torn down, and made room for a development, a neighborhood. That's where Carissa's group with partners like Defenders come in. We've come to this place, to get whatever tortoises are living here out of harm's way. Because if we don't, they'll be forever buried under a neighborhood of concrete.
Carissa Kent:
Correct.
Jeff Corwin:
All right. Shall we go save some tortoises?
Carissa Kent:
I'm ready.
Kent Wimmer:
Let's go.
Jeff Corwin:
Let's do it.
Carissa Kent:
Let's go.
Carissa Kent:
All right, found one guys.
Kent Wimmer:
Hey.
Carissa Kent:
All right. It's right here.
Jeff Corwin:
All right. Yep, I can see that.
Kent Wimmer:
Good job.
Carissa Kent:
Yeah, I see tracks and some nice little trails right there. So, we're hoping this is definitely
a gopher tortoise that's physically in here.
Jeff Corwin:
There could be dozen of critters down there, but there's only one way to find out, and we've
got some technology to do that, don't we Carissa?
Carissa Kent:
We sure do.
Jeff Corwin:
Carissa carefully feeds a small camera deep into the hole, to see if anyone is at home.
Carissa:
All right. It's curving to the left a little bit. And-
Jeff Corwin:
Look at that. A tortoise.
Carissa Kent:
There is our tortoise.
Kent Wimmer:
All right.
Jeff Corwin:
So, we've confirmed tortoise, what do we do?
Carissa Kent:
It's time to excavate.
Jeff Corwin:
All right, let's do it.
Carissa Kent:
All right, let's go.
Kent Wimmer:
All right.
Jeff Corwin:
In order to safely excavate the gopher tortoise, we rely on some heavy-duty industrial earth moving equipment to help clear away the top soil.
Jeff Corwin:
This is about being very, very gentle and approaching this hole as gingerly as possible, isn't it?
Carissa Kent:
Absolutely. Obviously, we're digging with very, very large machinery here, so our number one goal is not to hurt this tortoise. But we need this machine to get this tortoise out of the ground. So how we do that, is delicately.
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