Gopher tortoises can live 40 to 80 years in the wild. They love to forage on tender low-growing green plants and leaves in the early morning or late afternoon but can also be found eating flowers on prickly pear cactus and hibiscus, saw palmetto berries and gopher apples. They have one clutch of eggs per year, which contains anywhere from three to 14 eggs, and it takes about 100 days for the eggs to incubate. The sex of the eggs is temperature-dependent, meaning that if the temperature is above 85 F, the hatchling will be a female, and if lower, it will be a male.  

According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission FWC), cane toads are reddish-brown to grayish-brown, with a light-yellow or beige belly and can be uniform in color or have darker markings around the body. They have enlarged glands behind the eyes, which angle downward onto the shoulders. The glands secrete a potent milky-white toxin (bufotoxin) as defense against predators – including domestic pets. Cane toads generally range in size from six to nine inches in length. They can be confused with the native southern toad, however; adult cane toads are much larger than adult southern toads, which only grow to a maximum of approximately three or four inches. Cane toads do not have ridges across the head, as seen in the southern toad.

We told you about the ongoing court case between Boca Grande resident Boots Tolsdorf and a Nantucket beachfront homeowner who ended up with an assault charge after he allegedly pushed Boots twice during an alteration. While Boots claimed to have been below the mark that signifies private property, the homeowner said she was not.