By Brennan

 The Desert Tortoise is 9-15 inches in length.  The Desert Tortoise weighs 8-15 lbs.  The Desert Tortoise is greenish to dark brown in color.

 The Desert Tortoise lives years.

 The Desert Tortoise is a herbivore and eats herbs, grasses, some shrubs, and new growth of cacti and their flowers.

 There is only about 100,000 Desert Tortoises left in the world.

 The Desert Tortoise lives in the Sonoran and Mojave Deserts.

 The Desert Tortoise uses claws for digging burrows to keep cool.  The Desert Tortoise uses a shell for a home and for protection from predators.

 The Desert Tortoise’s shell is also called a carapace.  The Desert Tortoise burrows up to 6 ft.  The Desert Tortoise hibernates during the winter.

 The Desert Tortoise is endangered because its land has been fragmented.

Defenders of the Wild