Desert Tortoise Numbers Fell 92% Even in Protected Land
Researchers tracked desert tortoises in a protected area in California for 34 years. Their numbers fell from 589 to 47 by 2002, then rose to 73 by 2012. The study links the drop to disease, predators and environmental stress, and suggests that protection alone was not enough.
Context
Context: Desert tortoises are a threatened species in the American southwest, and they live long lives and breed slowly, so losses take years to recover. Protected areas do not always stop threats such as disease that spread among animals.
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