Global News - May 2008

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Californian tortoises threatened by coyote populations

Tue 13 May 2008 17:30 UK — North America,Reptiles

Tortoises protected under state laws in California are being killed by the area's coyote population, reports suggest.

The Los Angeles Times claimed that at least 14 rare tortoises have been killed by coyotes since the reptiles were relocated from US military land.

Since the army relocated 760 tortoises to unoccupied public lands, another 15 baby tortoises have died from other causes.

US Geological Survey biologist Kristin Berry explained to the paper: "Coyotes didn't seem to be a problem when we started.

"The question in the back of all of our minds now is this: 'How could we have determined that this was going to happen?'."

Experts said that the situation might have been exacerbated by recent droughts in the region. The lack of rain has caused local rodent populations to plummet. As a result, the coyotes have turned on the tortoises.

William Boarman, a professor of biology at San Diego State University, said the relocation plan was always going to be difficult.

"We were stuck with bad options: move the tortoises or leave them in place, which would have been much worse," he told the paper.

"We're trying to make it work the best we can, and conduct research that can help us make future translocations more effective."

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