
ESA001-00150
Gopher tortoises (Gopherus polyphemus) (US: Threatened, IUCN: Vulnerable) in the southeastern U.S. often end up as roadkill. Invasive fire ants and armadillos prey on their eggs and young, while urban expansion, logging and fire mismanagement degrade tortoise habitat, pushing these reptiles closer to the edge.
Keywords
- blurred motion
- countdown
- countdown to extinction
- daytime
- endangered species act
- extinction
- federally-threatened
- full length
- Geopherus polyphemus
- Gopher tortoise
- Highway
- highway 49
- low angle view
- magazine
- Mississippi
- motion blur
- national geographic
- national geographic magazine
- one animal
- outdoors
- rare
- side view
- tortoise
- Truck
- vulnerable
This photo © Joel Sartore 2021. Image usage guidelines