Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. As monsoon rains bring much needed water to Arizona’s deserts, you may notice some of the state’s beloved shell-backed reptiles on ...

This story is free to read because readers choose to support LAist. If you find value in independent local reporting, make a donation to power our newsroom today. Spotting a Mojave Desert tortoise is ...

State wildlife officials are looking for new homes in Arizona for surrendered desert tortoises. The Arizona Game and Fish Department said in a mid-May Facebook post that rows of captive desert ...

A fifth-grade class from Selma Bartlett Elementary visited Springs Preserve for a free field trip after a student came closest in the Mojave Max emergence contest.

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Following more than three decades of declining numbers, the Mojave desert tortoise has been officially declared an endangered species in California. The California Fish and Game Commission voted ...

Arizona Game and Fish Department still has desert tortoises that need forever homes. Captive tortoises grow up to about 14 inches long and can live upwards of 80 years, AZGFD said. However, they ...

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 ...

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 ...