Endangered Tortoises Feasting on Invasive Plants

discovery ^ | Richard Farrell

[BenLurkin]

On an earlier project, Blake had outfitted tortoises on the island with GPS units. He noted something strange in their movements: The tortoises would migrate between lowlands -- only flush with vegetation in the wet season -- and highland meadows, which had plentiful vegetation year-round.

Blake knew a Galapagos tortoise could survive up to a year with no food or drink. "Why," he wondered in a release, "would a 500-pound animal that can fast for a year and that carries a heavy shell haul itself up and down a volcano in search of food? Couldn't it just wait out the dry season until better times came with the rains?"

Blake and Cabrera set out to learn how the animal got the energy to make such journeys. They spent four years tracking the tortoises -- watching what the creatures ate, and even identifying food in their diet by examining seeds in their dung.

The researchers found that the slow-moving giants spent more time foraging among non-native plants than those that were native to the island -- to the tune of about half of their overall diet.

[A Formerly Proud Canadian]

Variety is the spice of life, even for tortoises.

[gaijin]

Wonder if they’d like Mexicans...?

Dreamer Diet.

[Attention Surplus Disorder]

They better go back to examining the seeds in the tortoise dung. Some would smell crap, other would smell grant money.

[BenLurkin]

Works for me.

We can even grease them up with guacamole to make them easier to swallow.

[shibumi]

When I grow up (if that ever happens) my dream job is to search through turtle poop looking for seeds.

Maybe if the seeds are aromatic, they can be sold to restaurants in California as an exotic spice - like they sell the Trendies civet coffee.

[Vigilanteman]

I seem to recall reading somewhere that the highest priced coffee in the world comes from coffee beans grown in Indonesia and pooped out by an exotic species of weasel.

And now you know how Harry Reid will be reincarnated.

[shibumi]

That's what I was referring to - "civet coffee"- here's a photo of your weasel:

It's called the Asian Palm Civet

[NorthMountain]

Dave Barry: Decaf Poopacino.

[Vigilanteman]

You've got to admit that it has a strong resemblance to Harry Reid after the encounter with his exercise machine.

[shibumi]

You guys have got me thinking now.

The whole analogy of te Liberal populace lapping up something that comes out of a Congresscritter’s butt.

I may have to put one of my cartoonist friends to work on this.....

[T-Bone Texan]

“K eat what you excrete.” - John Lydon

[Regal]

Tortoises are notorious for not reading text books. Sometimes they don’t even know that they are eating the wrong plants.

[Salamander]

Mine “migrate” from their happy sleeping spots under the heat lamps to their food bowls.

It’s a grueling trek of nearly 3 feet.

Often, they must bravely navigate around hide boxes, or over treacherous log hides and ping pong balls.

Nature is merciless.

I want grant money.

[TheOldLady]

You'll either get grant money or get arrested for cruelty to spoiled snakes and other pampered animals.

;-) You're nearly as big a softy as I am. Our two new cats are already hopelessly ruined as it is. Spoiled rotten.

Here's Midnight



And here's Tootsie