Desert Tortoise Research Natural Area

Look hard for the threatened desert tortoise. The California state reptile makes its home here, but the shy and gentle creature is hard to spot.

This special tortoise sanctuary provides four marked trails, ranging from a half-mile to 1.5 miles. The best time to glimpse a tortoise is from early March to the end of May.

Keep your distance from tortoises, as they traumatize easily.

Like other reptiles, the desert tortoise is cold-blooded. To survive in the desert, the tortoise estivates (remains underground in its burrow) during the hottest times of the day during the summer and hibernates (sleeps underground in its burrow) during the cold of winter.

Tortoises come out in the spring to eat grasses and wildflowers and drink water from the spring rains, though they obtain most of their water from the plants they eat. In spring, they socialize and look for mates. At other times of the year, they are less active above ground.

The desert tortoise reaches sexual maturity between 10 and 20 years of age. The females lay from 2 to 14 ping pong ball size eggs. Since a tortoise may live for 60 to 100 years, many eggs will be laid in a lifetime. However, only about five out of every 100 hatchlings will survive to become an adult tortoise.

For the first six to eight years, the young tortoise's shell is no thicker than your fingernail, and therefore, it is easy prey for many other desert animals, especially the raven.

There is little shade in the Mojave, so bring a lot of water, sun screen and a wide-brimmed hat.