Mojave desert tortoises wander across roads while searching for food, water and mates, putting them in the path of vehicles.

CEDAR CITY, Utah (ABC4) — The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources announced Tuesday that it is hosting a brand-new, never-before-seen event: A desert tortoise meet-and-greet. The tortoise viewing ...

PHOENIX — They’re not fluffy, they don’t play fetch and they certainly don’t roll over. But there is such a thing as a lap tortoise. Dotty the desert tortoise climbs into the lap of Seyda Robertson in ...

As monsoon rains bring much needed water to Arizona’s deserts, you may notice some of the state’s beloved shell-backed reptiles on the move. State wildlife officials have a message for those who may ...

The animals are also vulnerable to a range of deadly diseases such as upper respiratory illnesses and the shell disease cutaneous dyskeratosis, which softens their shells. Finally, as climate change ...

TUCSON, Ariz. - Federal officials have concluded that Sonoran desert tortoises native to Arizona have a relatively stable population that doesn’t need protection from environmental threats, but ...

What has four scaly legs and spends 90% of its life underground? It could be your new pet. The Arizona Game and Fish Department’s desert tortoise adoption program began last week with more than 300 ...

TUCSON (KVOA) - The Sonoran desert tortoise will not be placed under federal protection after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service struck down potentially listing the shelled Arizonan under the ...

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in ...

MOJAVE DESERT, California (CNN) -- Scientists have been crawling around in the desert, trying to stop the desert tortoise's slow crawl toward extinction. On one such recent outing, they made an ...

PHOENIX — They’re not fluffy, they don’t play fetch and they certainly don’t roll over. But there is such a thing as a lap tortoise. What’s more, pet tortoises can wag their tails, will plod on up to ...

PHOENIX — They’re not fluffy, they don’t play fetch and they certainly don’t roll over. But there is such a thing as a lap tortoise. What’s more, pet tortoises can wag their tails, will plod on up to ...