Some turtles and tortoises, including the Eastern box turtle, can live for more than a century.
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Reptiles
Helping desert tortoises during monsoon season
Written by Administrator
Thursday, 22 July 2010 18:14
Monsoon season brings one of the southwest desert’s most iconic creatures out of their burrows and out-and-about across the state. Desert tortoises are now in their most active season, and Arizona’s increased human population creates more risks for these slow-moving symbols of the Sonoran desert.
The Arizona Game and Fish Department asks the public to follow these important guidelines if they encounter a desert tortoise:
Do not remove a tortoise from its habitat. Taking a wild tortoise home is illegal in Arizona. Additionally, most tortoises stay in the same small area their entire lives, so if you move a tortoise to a new location it will not know where to find food and shelter and will likely die.
Do not release a captive tortoise into the wild. Captive desert tortoises cannot be released into the wild as they can pass diseases to wild populations and displace wild tortoises. It is also illegal to release captive animals into the wild.
Keep dogs away from both captive and wild desert tortoises. Even the most gentle dog can pose a serious threat to a tortoise.
If you come across a desert tortoise crossing a busy road, if traffic safely permits it, pick the tortoise up and gently move it to the other side of the road. Carry the animal so that it is level to the ground, and move it in the same direction it was headed.
There are many legends surrounding the life of St. Patrick. Of course, the one that we're most interested in is his reputed "mass exodus" of snakes from Ireland. Here's the short version:
It is believed that in 441 A.D., St. Patrick fasted and prayed for 40 days at the summit of Croagh Patrick ("the Reek") in County Mayo. During this time, as blackbirds assaulted him, St. Patrick continued to pray and ring a bell as a proclamation of his faith. In answer to his prayers, an angel appeared to tell him that the Irish people would retain their Christian faith for all time. Today, more than 100,000 pilgrims visit the Reek annually to follow in St. Patrick's footsteps. It was while he was atop the mountain that St. Patrick drove all the snakes in Ireland to the sea, effectively saving Ireland from some kind of snake revolution.
Monsoon season brings one of the southwest desert’s most iconic creatures out of their burrows and out-and-about across the state. Desert tortoises are now in their most active season, and Arizona’s increased human population creates more risks for these slow-moving symbols of the Sonoran desert. 
There are many legends surrounding the life of St. Patrick. Of course, the one that we're most interested in is his reputed "mass exodus" of snakes from Ireland. Here's the short version: 
