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Flipping defense
The desert tortoise is commonly a solitary creature , except during union season . Then , both male and female tortoise of the same sexual practice will push each other when they sweep paths . male person are especially combative at this time and employ a structure known as a gulag scute , which grows outward under their neck from their shell , to ram and flip over a potential male rival . A flipped male has not only lost the battle but if he can not right himself , he will die from the heat of the desert Lord’s Day .
Losing habitat
Like many specie of wildlife , the nifty threat to the desert tortoise is loss of home ground due to human natural process and exploitation . In some expanse of the American deserts , the desert tortoise universe has decreased by 90 percent . Vehicle dealings both on main road and on the open desert are specially prejudicial to the tortoise universe . In the Western Mojave Desert , a study showed that the desert tortoise population is , on average , 200 adults per substantial mile . Today , that figure is consider to be just five to 60 adults per straight mile .
Adapting to life
The deserts of North America are inhabit by many metal money of plants and brute that have adapted well to the extreme temperature and dry conditions found across this vast landscape painting . The desert tortoise is just one such splendid example of life ’s power to acclimate to any environment . preservation projects are on-going in the United States and Mexico to assure that the desert tortoise is a part of this amazing desert ecosystem forever .
