Surf and Tortoise on St. Simons

When Ben Rountree saw a gopher tortoise crawling near the surf on St. Simons Island last May, the south Georgia native knew what it was. But he also knew it was unusual.

"There was a crowd of people watching and some thought it was a sea turtle," Rountree said, admitting the misidentification caused him to chuckle.

Yet his family has had a condo on St. Simons for some 20 years, the Statesboro pharmacist said, "and I'd never seen a gopher tortoise in the dunes or on the beach."

Why this wet tortoise was crawling from damp sand to high ground near The King and Prince Resort will likely remain a mystery. DNR senior wildlife biologist Daniel Sollenberger said the possible scenarios vary from uninformed - someone illegally moved the tortoise from its upland habitats to the beach - to unique: The turtle was crossing a waterway upstream and currents swept it out to sea.

Although gopher tortoises are land reptiles, they can float and paddle, and they even sometimes "willingly enter the water," Sollenberger said.

There are documented instances of other tortoise species traveling by water, if unintentionally. Sollenberger also pointed out that the gopher tortoise's range is crisscrossed by creeks and rivers.

"Water is a barrier that will limit their dispersal, but occasionally individuals do cross water bodies. Especially if it's something they can see the other side of. If turtles can see it, they'll go there."

Yet he also cautioned that tortoises are "not particularly good swimmers" and they "don't like going in the water." Which could help explain why gopher tortoise populations on Georgia's barrier islands are scarce, and at least one - on St. Catherines - and possibly all were started by people. Other factors raising the odds against barrier-island gophers are high water tables and hurricanes or tropical storms that can reset new populations.

The St. Simons castaway speaks to a little-known side of Georgia's state reptile. However, Sollenberger suggested that insight comes with a caveat: If a tortoise wants to test the water, let it make that decision.

Top: Video frames of the gopher tortoise on the St. Simons beach (Ben Rountree/Special to DNR)

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