You are here

Home » Joshua Tree National Park Visitors Cautioned To Watch For Desert Tortoises On Road

Joshua Tree National Park Visitors Cautioned To Watch For Desert Tortoises On Road

Share
By NPT Staff - July 7th, 2015
Desert Tortoise at Joshua Tree National Park/NPS

Joshua Tree visitors should watch out for desert tortoises on the park's roads/NPS

If it looks like a tortoise and walks like a tortoise, it probably is a tortoise, and Joshua Tree National Park officials hope you'll take care and not run them over.

With monsoonal weather in the California desert, you just might come upon one of the park's desert tortoises on roadways as they search out puddles for a drink. Because of their presence on the roads, tortoises are extremely vulnerable to being hit by cars, park biologists point out.

To help you understand how to deal with a desert tortoise should you come upon one while driving through Joshua Tree, the park has produced the following video that shows you when and how to safely move a tortoise out of the road. Keep in mind that tortoises should only be handled in emergency situations.

Add comment

CAPTCHA

This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

Image CAPTCHA
Enter the characters shown in the image.

The Essential RVing Guide

The Essential RVing Guide to the National Parks

The National Parks RVing Guide, aka the Essential RVing Guide To The National Parks, is the definitive guide for RVers seeking information on campgrounds in the National Park System where they can park their rigs. It's available for free for both iPhones and Android models.

This app is packed with RVing specific details on more than 250 campgrounds in more than 70 parks.

You'll also find stories about RVing in the parks, some tips if you've just recently turned into an RVer, and some planning suggestions. A bonus that wasn't in the previous eBook or PDF versions of this guide are feeds of Traveler content: you'll find our latest stories as well as our most recent podcasts just a click away.

So whether you have an iPhone or an Android, download this app and start exploring the campgrounds in the National Park System where you can park your rig.