Tortoises surface during floods

Friday, Aug. 22, 2003 | 10:03 a.m.

The phone number for tortoise pickups is 593-9027.

The Tortoise Group is online at www.tortoisegroup.org.

While Tuesday's devastating flood left thousands of northwest Las Vegas residents coping with too much water and mud, Mojave Desert tortoises emerged from their burrows in droves to drink rainwater.

About 13 tortoises have been discovered all over the valley and turned in to the Clark County Tortoise Pickup Service, local tortoise expert Betty Burge said Thursday.

"So far, one has been returned to its owner," Burge said.

The county's pickup service provides a safety net for tortoises born in captivity that could not survive in the wild, Burge said.

In Southern Nevada's heat, tortoises bury themselves in cool burrows. But when it rains, Burge said, tortoises emerge looking for puddles and drink for up to 15 minutes or until the puddle is gone.

Wild tortoises are protected under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. Tortoises born in captivity are not protected under the act and may be adopted.

When someone finds a wandering tortoise in an urban area, the best thing to do is shelter it in a cardboard box and keep it in a laundry room or other quiet shelter away from heat and activity until a pickup can be arranged, Burge said.

The county has a tortoise shelter at the Desert Conservation Area south of Las Vegas.

It is important to turn tortoises in and not keep them, Burge said.