The desert tortoise had previously been classified as "threatened" by the California Endangered Species Act in 1989, as well as by the federal Endangered Species Act of 1990.

Reliable, the desert tortoise I’ve followed at Joshua Tree, likely has been going to the same flat rock during monsoonal rains for the 40-plus years he’s been alive. Tortoises also remember where ...

There are two desert tortoise species in the Southwest: the Sonoran, which is most common east and south of the Colorado River, and the Mojave, found west and north of the river.

Dotty the desert tortoise enjoys a snack of yellow trumpet flowers in Scottsdale, Ariz., on May 4, 2023. The surprising warmth of these ancient cold-blooded creatures has made them popular pets ...

Dotty the desert tortoise enjoys a snack of yellow trumpet flowers in Scottsdale, Ariz., on May 4, 2023. The surprising warmth of these ancient cold-blooded creatures has made them popular pets ...

One of the desert's most iconic denizens, the tortoise has been in peril for decades as urban growth wipes out habitat and temperatures rise.

The Mojave desert tortoise faces multiple threats to its survival, including habitat loss driven by development, military training and base expansion, off-highway vehicle use and livestock grazing.

Dotty the desert tortoise enjoys a snack of yellow trumpet flowers in Scottsdale, Ariz., on May 4, 2023. The surprising warmth of these ancient cold-blooded creatures has made them popular pets ...

Adopting a Sonoran Desert tortoise. Since 1981, the Arizona Game and Fish Department has facilitated a program to allow Arizona residents to adopt the tortoises, which are a protected species and ...

This Sept. 3, 2008, file photo shows an endangered desert tortoise sitting in the middle of an eastern Mojave Desert road. | Reed Saxon ...

Dotty the desert tortoise enjoys a snack of yellow trumpet flowers in Scottsdale, Ariz. The surprising warmth of these ancient cold-blooded creatures has made them popular pets for families with ...

Another effort to help save the Mohave desert tortoise is being proposed, this time with the proposed removal of several hundred burros from within the Tass-Gold Butte Herd Management Area 60 ...