{"id":2438,"date":"2009-03-22T12:26:25","date_gmt":"2009-03-22T17:26:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/?p=2438"},"modified":"2010-01-16T12:41:43","modified_gmt":"2010-01-16T17:41:43","slug":"gopher-tortoise-crashes-ritzy-beach-party-in-naples-florida","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/?p=2438","title":{"rendered":"Gopher Tortoise Crashes Ritzy Beach Party in Naples, Florida"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"gt-006\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Gopher Tortoise: “Where’s the Party?”<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

No self-respecting troglodyte turtle can resist the rumbling beat of a Southwest Florida beach party.\u00c2\u00a0 With\u00c2\u00a0the\u00c2\u00a0moniker “Gopherus polyphemus<\/em>,”\u00c2\u00a0gopher tortoises certainly fall within this cadre.\u00c2\u00a0 Named after\u00c2\u00a0Homer’s mythical, cave-dwelling\u00c2\u00a0Cyclops Polyphemus<\/strong> who confronted Odysseus and his crew, the gopher tortoises of Naples occupy some of the finest burrows in the New World; caves that would be the envy of any Greek god or goddess.<\/p>\n

\"gt-002\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Burrow with Sea Breeze and View<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Examples of these elegant accommodations can be found anywhere along the Naples coastline.\u00c2\u00a0 This especially appealing burrow offers a turtle’s eye view of Gulf Coast sunsets each night and is air conditioned by a steady sea breeze.\u00c2\u00a0 Shading vegetation creates a comfortable atmosphere for siestas during the heat of the day and offers tasty snacks within easy neck reach.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"gt-001\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Gopher Tortoise Walks the Rope Line at Vanderbilt Beach<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

As you stroll Vandebilt Beach, don’t be surprised to encounter rope lines along gopher tortoise habitat.\u00c2\u00a0 At first we thought these barriers were erected to keep humans from interfering with turtles.\u00c2\u00a0 But as you can clearly see from the photo above, it’s the tortoises who walk the straight and narrow, so as not to interupt the beach fun of frolicking tourists.<\/p>\n

\"gt-004\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Gopher Tortoise High Rent District by the Ritz Carlton<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Location, location, location!\u00c2\u00a0 The real high rent district for Southwest Florida’s gopher tortoises lies within burrowing distance of the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Naples<\/a>.\u00c2\u00a0 For an earlier adventure with these\u00c2\u00a0upscale tortoises, see Gopher Tortoises \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Puttin on the Ritz\u00e2\u20ac\u009d in Naples, Florida<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"gt-003\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Gopher Tortoise\u00c2\u00a0Taking Mid-Morning Siesta<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

March 12th proved another perfect Florida day with a bright cloudless sky and\u00c2\u00a0temperatures in the low 80s.\u00c2\u00a0 Exploring Vanderbilt Beach, Sue Wieber Nourse spotted a large gopher tortoise in a burrow near the Ritz Carlton catching a few z’s during a mid-morning siesta.\u00c2\u00a0 Suddenly,\u00c2\u00a0a sensuous Gulf\u00c2\u00a0breeze wafted the jazzy\u00c2\u00a0melody of party music from the Ritz beach.\u00c2\u00a0 Apparently irresistible to\u00c2\u00a0a reptile’s ear, the\u00c2\u00a0rumbling beat seemed to lift the turtle from its lazy snooze and to tug this tortoise in the direction of the tented cabanas.<\/p>\n

<\/object><\/p>\n

Click Here to View Video in High Quality<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Gopher Tortoise Crashes Ritzy Beach Party<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

With neither angst nor doubt,\u00c2\u00a0tortoise\u00c2\u00a0pursued the rhythm.\u00c2\u00a0 Cutting through dense underbrush, dodging tourists and beach crews, the turtle danced onward until its path was blocked by bottles and boxes and tools.\u00c2\u00a0 It lay in quiet frustration for a few minutes before its rescue by the Turtle Journal team.<\/p>\n

\"gt-007\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Tortoise “Card Check”<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Since the turtle had crashed the beach party, it seemed appropriate for a casual “card check” to ensure that we weren’t serving the underaged.\u00c2\u00a0 A quick look at its annual growth lines showed that the tortoise more than qualified for adult status.<\/p>\n

\"gt-005\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Party Gopher Tortoise<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Lifted out of\u00c2\u00a0its “boxed” canyon trap, the tortoise resumed its upbeat strut as it headed back towards the seductive quietude of its burrow.\u00c2\u00a0 Beach parties are okay, but in moderation to be sure.<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Gopher Tortoise: “Where’s the Party?” No self-respecting troglodyte turtle can resist the rumbling beat of a Southwest Florida beach party.\u00c2\u00a0 With\u00c2\u00a0the\u00c2\u00a0moniker “Gopherus polyphemus,”\u00c2\u00a0gopher tortoises certainly fall within this cadre.\u00c2\u00a0 Named after\u00c2\u00a0Homer’s mythical, cave-dwelling\u00c2\u00a0Cyclops Polyphemus who confronted Odysseus and his crew, the gopher tortoises of Naples occupy some of the finest burrows in the New World; […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[402],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2438"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2438"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2438\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3953,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2438\/revisions\/3953"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2438"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2438"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2438"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}