262 .^ DENIZENS OF THE DESERT 



over. Had he been so fortunate as to have been 

 turned upside down on some place where tall 

 grass or tufted herbs were growing, there might 

 have been a chance for him. An extra long 

 stretch and twist of the neck and a bit of tortu- 

 ous struggling with the elephant-like rear feet 

 would under these circumstances have put him 

 over. 



How does Gopherus^ get his water? Watch 

 him in the early morning after a rain when 

 there are droplets of water or dew on the herbs, 

 and you will see him nosing up to them and 

 catching the dangling water pearls in his horny 

 beak. However, like his fabled racing competi- 

 tor, the hare, he gets most of his moisture from 

 the herbage he eats. 



It is always a matter of speculation when we 

 attempt to give the age of an adult specimen. 

 A tortoise grows so slowly that it is almost 

 impossible to see any change in size in any 

 single year. The largest ones measure fifteen 

 inches or more across and are doubtless very 

 old. How many times have I wished, as I have 

 seen these venerable creatures gazing up at 



> Gopherus is the generic name for the tortoise. 



