A visit to Oatland Island Wildlife Center may include a chance to see wild gopher tortoises going about their daily business.  For years, Oatland Island has had a sustained population of gopher tortoise on its beautiful 165 acre site.  Recently, animal care technician Allison Ballentine and Supervisor of Animal Programs, Dr Lesley Mailler, have started a project to track the number of tortoises on site as well as their movement from place to place.  “Most of the tortoises we have tagged have been females, but we do have one large male that could be as old as 30,” says Ballentine.  
The gopher tortoise is listed as a protected species in Georgia and has seen its wild numbers drop significantly over the past 100 years.  “The Oatland Island population is very important” notes Ballentine “because we can learn more about their behavior and natural history in a controlled setting.”  The Oatland team has already caught and tagged over a dozen individuals.  A system has also been set up on grounds to alert guests as to which of the tortoise burrows are active (or have a resident tortoise) and which ones are currently inactive (the tortoise moved on to better digs!).
As the study continues, the information gathered will be crucial for use by state and federal biologists to determine the overall health of gopher tortoise populations in the South Eastern US.  Next time you visit, make sure to give way to any lumbering tortoises that might cross your path.
The Oatland Island Wildlife Center of Savannah is home to over 150 animals from 50 different species.  The center is open daily from 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. and is located 5 miles east of Historic Downtown Savannah on President Street (Islands Expressway).  The center is a unit of Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools.
For more information, contact the center at 395-1212 or visit their website at http://www.oatlandisland.org/.