Georgia Initiative Brings Business To The Table To Save A Rare Animal

Gopher tortoises are a keystone species. Scientists have found about 350 different species that live in the burrows the tortoises dig.

Randy Browning / U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Gopher tortoises are big, dry, wrinkly reptiles that dig burrows underground in the parts of Georgia where the soil is sandy, down South and near the coast.

To the people who study them, they’re “cute,” “quite personable,” and “just a great little critter.” To the 350 or so other species of animals that use their burrows, they’re property developers. And to businesses, they’re a potential problem.

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