PHOENIX (AP) — They’re not fluffy, they don’t play fetch and they certainly don’t roll over. But there is such a thing as a lap tortoise. What’s more, pet tortoises can wag their tails, will plod on ...

As monsoon rains bring much needed water to Arizona’s deserts, you may notice some of the state’s beloved shell-backed reptiles on the move. State wildlife officials have a message for those who may ...

Desert tortoises — the iconic reptile of the Mojave Desert — face plenty of dangers in the wild that scientists say pose long-term threats to the species: ravens, humans and climate change, to name a ...

A team of biologists and volunteers released 51 desert tortoises in the Boulder City Conservation Easement Wednesday. (KTNV) — More than a dozen biologists and volunteers walked through the Boulder ...

A 3.5-million-acre swath of Mojave Desert between Ridgecrest and the Morongo Basin has received a new federal designation that advocates hope will help protect vulnerable wildlife like the Mojave ...

As they work to give tortoise hatchlings a head start at life and boost the wild population, staff at The Living Desert have a few pieces of advice for anyone hoping to protect desert tortoises in any ...

Behind the fences surrounding this 40-square-mile outback of cactus and wiry creosote, the largest remaining population of Mojave desert tortoises was soaking up the morning sun and grazing on a mix ...

Before they could find their new homes in the Southern Nevada desert, they first had to take a bath. No, this wasn’t some new hoop that prospective homebuyers have to jump through in Las Vegas’ ...

To the editor: The most hopeful aspect of reporter Louis Sahagun’s article about the fast decline in desert tortoise populations was The Times’ choice to put it on the front page. What happens to ...

PHOENIX — They’re not fluffy, they don’t play fetch and they certainly don’t roll over. But there is such a thing as a lap tortoise. Dotty the desert tortoise climbs into the lap of Seyda Robertson in ...

PHOENIX — They’re not fluffy, they don’t play fetch and they certainly don’t roll over. But there is such a thing as a lap tortoise. What’s more, pet tortoises can wag their tails, will plod on up to ...