Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program: Georgia
Education, Research and Technical Assistance for Managing Our Natural Resources

The Mojave Desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) population, classified as Threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, is in decline and in need of active management for population recovery. The rearing of neonate tortoises until they are more likely to survive (head-starting) is one strategy for population augmentation. Although head-starting has intuitive appeal as a conservation strategy, the strategy is expensive, and its success depends on how soon and how successfully head-started animals reproduce in the wild compared to wild-reared animals. While the husbandry phase of captive tortoises is well understood, the function and performance of head-started tortoises once released in the wild have not been evaluated. This research is conducted in collaboration with the University of Georgia’s Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, University of California-Davis, and National Park Service. This research will be used by conservation agencies and their partners to weigh trade-offs between the costs of head-starting against the expected benefit of head-starting to enhance tortoise population growth and persistence.