Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was herping with my herpetology classmates down in the Mojave desert in the extreme SW corner of Utah the week before last and this cutie was crossing a road, so we stopped and made a line of people to help it safely cross.
It is against the law to touch one because they are federally listed and will expel their water reserves if provoked (aka pee on you), and this could be their death if they cannot recoup the lost water.
It was really cool to see this animal chugging along at its turtle's pace there in its natural habitat.

Dusty Rhoads

Suboc.com

Great picture, and I'm so glad that you didn't touch it (or, even worse, try and take it home). It was the right thing to do, and you and your friends had a great experience.

Nina

Earlier that same day, we actually did get to touch and tag (without picking up) a few adults with radios at the tortoise reserve in St. George. This was allowed, because our herp class volunteered to help do that.
The tortoise you see in the picture was found about 40 miles or so from the reserve, so this one was indeed a special find.

Dusty
Suboc.com