They have stumpy legs with strong feet designed for digging massive holes in sandy dunes. Gopher tortoises are among Florida's most ancient-looking critters, and they thrive at places like Bowditch ...

A rescued gopher tortoise arrived at the Nokuse Nature Preserve in Florida’s Panhandle while my sister Erica and I were there. It didn’t know how lucky it was. Across Florida, builders are required to ...

But most gopher tortoises live in rural areas that are most often used for forestry or hunting. It’s not hard to manage for those uses to benefit both gopher tortoises and the landowner, Jensen said.