Gopher Tortoises Returned to Wild [Image 2 of 7]

CAMP SHELBY, MS, UNITED STATES

09.20.2017

Photo by Staff Sgt. Scott Tynes 

Joint Force Headquarters - Mississippi National Guard

The Head-Start Program and the tortoise nursery was created at Camp Shelby in 2014 as a joint effort by the Mississippi Military Department, The Nature Conservancy, United States Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, Mississippi Cultural Heritage Program, and the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks to capture eggs in the nest, raise the hatchlings to a size to survive most predation, and return them to the wild. In addition to habitat loss and alteration, predators are having a large impact on gopher tortoises. Tortoise eggs and hatchlings are particularly vulnerable to predation by snakes, birds, mammals and red fire ants. Incubating the eggs in the Head-Start facility increases the hatching rate from 40 to 65 percent and saves them from predation. They are raised for two years before releasing them, increasing their survivability rate by 75-80 percent. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Scott Tynes)

• Date Taken: 09.20.2017
• Date Posted: 09.21.2017 15:24
• Photo ID: 3793622
• VIRIN: 170920-Z-AL584-002
• Resolution: 5472x3648
• Size: 7.12 MB
• Location: CAMP SHELBY, MS, US
• Hometown: CAMP SHELBY, MS, US
• Hometown: HATTIESBURG, MS, US