Preserves Protect Florida Wildlife
This is Dill and Dill found a gopher tortoise while we were out paddle boarding. I pulled up on a mangrove island to rest and a few minutes later he was on point watching one of natures little tanks motor across the clearing. Just to be clear, not all “turtles” belong in water. The critter above is a Gopher Tortoise. Tortoises do not swim so never put them in water. They are vegetarian and eat grass and weeds.
In many of our Bonita Springs area gated communities sections of land are reserved to protect animals and provide a habitat for them to live in safely.. It is not unusual to see gopher tortoises in many of our residential communities.
You can spot them in the day time easily in Barefoot Beach at the state beach park plus in the communities of West Bay Club, Pelican Sound and other communities.
There are many nature parks and preserve that host gopher tortoises in habitat such as Bonita Nature Place, Caloosahatchee Creeks Preserve East and CREW Trails.
Click through to read full park reviews of each of the nature parks and preserves mentioned above plus you can click this link to find Things to Do in SWFL.