NEWS-JOURNAL (Daytona Beach, Florida) 27 January 07 Tortoises moved from Volusia to Panhandle 'doing great'
Ponce Inlet: While a state agency debates the future of their species, a group of tortoises moved from their Ponce Inlet home in November appear to be adjusting just fine in their new digs.
Matt Aresco, conservation director for the Nokuse Plantation in the Panhandle, said all 11 tortoises dug new burrows within a week of their arrival and are "doing great."
They were fitted with transmitters and he plans to track them as soon as they start moving around when the weather warms up. He's particularly interested in whether the eight females will produce eggs in their new homes.
All of the tortoises were big, he said. One female, at 11.4 inches long, was just a few centimeters short of the state record.
The tortoises were moved from the construction site for The Cottages at Ponce Inlet. The developer, HCM Construction of Jacksonville, was the first to take advantage of a new state policy allowing tortoises to be moved by volunteers.
http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/News/Enviro/envEAST04ENV012707.htm
