Within earshot of tennis balls being projected off the rackets of would be Pete Samprases and Chris Everettes, is the pine flats environment of the Gopher Tortoise. The slow moving creatures don't seem to mind being in such close proximity to the tennis courts at Shadow Bay Park and they shouldn't - the area is a protected and harassing the creatures carries a stiff penalty by Florida law.The park is a favorite of mine for speed walks with the Diva dog. I choose the primitive walks to the paved ones as they offer glimpses of old Florida, before the developers moved in and plowed down nature for strip malls and gated communities. In the process, the Gopher Tortoise is close to becoming endangered. We encounter about 5 'regulars' on our walks. One of them measures 11" or so from head to tail and we call him 'Max'. "Tortolini' is one of the smaller guys, measuring about 7", and the guy pictured above is "Shrek", so named because his borrough is reminiscent of the lair of the famous cartoon ogre. In the pic below, you can see him retreating at our approach on one of our walks. Surprizingly, the Gopher Tortoise is not beyond sharing his accommodations with other woodland creatures - rats, snakes and other assorted small wildlife inhabit it's domain.
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