A solar farm planned for the California desert is causing controversy because its location will be detrimental to hatchlings ...

More than 100 Sonoran desert tortoises need Arizona homes after rescues from illegal captive breeding operations.

"They offer many of the same life lessons to children, and they can provide just as much companionship and personality as a ...

As monsoon rains bring much needed water to Arizona's deserts, you may notice some of the state's beloved shell-backed reptiles on the move. State wildlife officials have a message for those who may ...

A man rushed to save pet desert tortoises from a hailstorm in Henderson, Nevada, on August 13. Video filmed by Alexis Morada ...

Here’s how you know a desert tortoise when you see one: It’s the thing that looks like it couldn’t possibly survive in the desert. They lumber along with these piston legs, like a stepstool that’s got ...

What has four scaly legs and spends 90% of its life underground? It could be your new pet. The Arizona Game and Fish Department’s desert tortoise adoption program began last week with more than 300 ...

Spotting a Mojave Desert tortoise is increasingly difficult in the American Southwest. The tortoises, with their unmistakable domed patterned shells, live in California, parts of Nevada, Arizona and ...

Desert tortoises — the iconic reptile of the Mojave Desert — face plenty of dangers in the wild that scientists say pose long-term threats to the species: ravens, humans and climate change, to name a ...

If you liked this story, share it with other people. Researchers are using a button-shaped device to gather data about desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) and their habitats in the Mojave Desert in ...

California’s Mojave Desert has become the backdrop of choice for many Instagram influencers who dig the aesthetics of Joshua trees and the otherworldly arid landscapes. Joshua Tree National Park now ...

Behind the fences surrounding this 40-square-mile outback of cactus and wiry creosote, the largest remaining population of Mojave desert tortoises was soaking up the morning sun and grazing on a mix ...