514 University of California Publications in Zoology [Vol. 12 



any kind was found in any of the dens. Late in the afternoon of a 

 hot July day a large tortoise was surprised in the act of coming out 

 of its burrow. "When it saw me it turned immediately and ambled 

 back to safety. 



Desert tortoises are said to come out in great numbers after thun- 

 dershowers. But this is by no means the only time of their activity, 

 for they appear to wander abroad at all seasons, frequenting rocky 

 and uneven as well as level ground. One meets with them plodding 

 steadily across-country, occasionally stretching their short necks down 

 over the pointed extremities of the plastron and testing the ground 

 with the sensitive tip of the snout or stepping aside to crop some small 

 annual plant growing in the shade of a boulder. Their usual gait 

 does not carry them along at a rate of more than four or five miles a 

 day (twenty feet a minute by test), and they live at such great dis- 

 tances from water that in places it would seem impracticable for them 

 to get a drink from one year's end to another. Sometimes when 

 roughly handled a tortoise will void the contents of its cloaca and blad- 

 der. The foeces are black and about the size of those of the fox. 



The author kept a number of desert tortoises at his home for a 

 time in an enclosure out-of-doors. The captive tortoises paced their 

 pens and frequently attempted to dig out under the fence. They 

 were not able to burrow into hard ground, but in a gravel bank they 

 would scrape away alternately with the fore limbs and when the hole 

 became deep enough would turn around and push the dirt out with 

 their shoulders. They grazed contentedly upon the lawn or in patches 

 of green weeds, and also ate lettuce or cabbage leaves thrown to them. 

 They were never active unless warm and seldom so even then, coming 

 out in bright sunshine to lie outstretched or seeking the warmth of a 

 stove or radiator in a room. They were handled a great deal and were 

 never known to open their mouths to bite. They soon became used to 

 human surroundings and would pursue their accustomed activities 

 with people about. Some of their habits are worthy of notice. 



When one tortoise meets another in the course of its journeying 

 each, whatever the sex, nods its head rapidly up and down as if in 

 salutation, and sometimes noses are touched before passing along. If 

 two males happen to meet, a tight is likely to ensue. After the pre- 

 liminary nodding the tortoises separate a little distance and then rush 

 toward one another with the heads drawn part way into the shell. The 

 combatants meet head on and the curved horns projecting from the 

 anterior end of the plastron are butted rather violently against the 



