City of Palm Bay to Celebrate Gopher Tortoise Day April 10 at Turkey Creek Sanctuary

habitat tours will be led by Wildlife Biologist Robert Hardy

BREVARD COUNTY • PALM BAY, FLORIDA – Celebrate Gopher Tortoise Day with the City of Palm Bay at the Turkey Creek Sanctuary on Sunday, April 10, presentations and Gopher Tortoise habitat tours will start at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., led by Wildlife Biologist Robert Hardy.

There will be activities for kids of all ages, and the event is free to attend.

Advance sign up is recommended as max class size is 25 per presentation. For more information or to sign up, call the Nature Center at (321) 676-6690.

April 10twas officially adopted by the Gopher Tortoise Council as Gopher Tortoise Day.

In Florida, gopher tortoises are found in parts of all 67 counties and are frequently encountered in neighborhoods, along roadways, and in many of Florida’s public parks and forests according to gophertortoisedayfl.com.

The goal of Gopher Tortoise Day is to increase awareness and appreciation for these long lived, gentle reptiles.

Gopher tortoises are considered a keystone species because they dig burrows that provide shelter for 360 other species of wildlife, called “commensals.” These commensal species include the gopher frog, Florida mouse, eastern indigo snake, and hundreds of invertebrates like beetles and crickets. Without the gopher tortoise, many of these species would not exist.

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