LOS ANGELES TIMES (California) 14 October 13 Desert tortoise killed when it tries to cross Interstate 10 (Rick Rojas)
He (or she) was a tortoise, an enormous creature who spent his (or her) days meandering the desert.
They were travelers, clogging the interstate as they headed east as the weekend came to an end.
When their paths intersected, it didn't end well.
On Sunday afternoon, which authorities describe as their rush hour on this stretch of Interstate 10 between Los Angeles and Palm Springs, a tortoise in the slow lane certainly caught drivers' attention.
Shortly after 3 p.m., California Highway Patrol officials said they received dozens of calls from travelers, spotting (and dodging) the tortoise just west of a rest area near White Water. It was "gigantic," the callers said, with some speculating that it weighed as much as 150 pounds.
By the time officers arrived, about 20 minutes after the deluge of calls, the tortoise was dead.
Heading north, the tortoise had made it to the second of four eastbound lanes, where it was struck by car. The driver had left the scene.
"I don't know what his plan was," Officer Darren Meyer, a CHP spokesman in the San Gorgonio Pass office, said of the tortoise. "He picked a poor day to cross our freeway."
Authorities believe that the animal was most likely a desert tortoise, which populate the area, but were unsure of its age or sex. The carcass was collected Sunday by Caltrans.
How the tortoise was able to get there has authorities perplexed. The roadway is blocked in by a short concrete wall, and they figure the tortoise must have happened upon a break in the wall.
"They're not very good jumpers," Meyer said.
It was certainly an unusual circumstance.
Meyer has been in the highway patrol 15 years -- working almost exclusively in desert areas -- and he's encountered plenty of incidents involving wild animals killed in auto accidents: black bears that wandered down from the mountains, cattle, coyotes, even eagles. There was also the time a bison had been hit.
"But never a turtle," he said. "Never."
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-tortoise-killed-crossing-10-freeway-20131014,0,833429.story

DESERT SUN (Palm Springs, California) 14 October 13 CHP: 200-year-old tortoise struck on Interstate 10 near Whitewater (Sherry Barkas)
Whitewater: A “humongous” tortoise making its way across Interstate 10 near the Whitewater exit Sunday afternoon was struck and killed before authorities could get it to safety, the California Highway Patrol reported.
The tortoise, originally estimated to be 200 years old and weighing about 150 pounds, was reported to be in the eastbound number three lane and heading north at 3:23 p.m., according to the CHP website.
About 15 minutes later, CHP dispatchers reported that the tortoise had been struck and pronounced dead.
At least 50 calls flooded into the California Highway Patrol’s dispatch center in Indio reporting the sighting, using descriptions like “gigantic” and “huge” to describe the ambling amphibian, said Darren Meyer, public information officer for the San Gorgonio Pass Area CHP.
“I don’t know where the 200 years came from,” he said.
The age guess was likely way off the mark, according to experts.
“Unfortunately, this is all too common,” Robert Lovich, a San Diego-based herpetologist said. “It’s exponentially older than it probably should be. Most tortoises can definitely exceed 20 years,” he said. Multi-decades is not uncommon. In a controlled environment (as a pet or in a zoo) they can live 40 years.”
Additional agencies, including Riverside County animal control and Caltrans, were notified.
“This is not something we deal with every day,” said Riverside County Department of Animal Services spokesman John Welsh. “I don’t think I’ve ever received a call of a tortoise on I-10.”
Other wildlife, such as coyotes and even a bear, have been spotted crossing the freeway, he said.
Additional details — including whether it was a Desert Tortoise, which is on the list of endangered species, or a turtle that had been someone’s pet — were not available Sunday evening. It was also not clear what type of vehicle hit the animal.
No other injuries were reported.
http://www.mydesert.com/article/20131013/NEWS0804/310130002/CHP-200-year-old-tortoise-killed-10