1. By Brennan

2.  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.

3.  The Desert Tortoise lives 50-80 years.

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

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

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

7.  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.

8.  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.

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

10. Defenders of the Wild. 2012. www.defenders.org www.defenders.org