PROTOCOL - JUNE 2001
Revised June 2003

SALVAGING INJURED, RECENTLY DEAD, ILL, AND DYING
WILD, FREE-ROAMING DESERT TORTOISES (GOPHERUS AGASSIZII)

prepared by Kristin H. Berry for


Federal Fish and Wildlife Permit TE006556-11
expires 7/18/2004

Salvage of injured, recently dead, ill, and dying desert tortoises is a very important part of recovery programs for threatened and endangered species. Salvaged desert tortoises can provide a wealth of information about such subjects as health, disease, presence of heavy metals and other toxicants, and causes of mortality in populations. When tortoises are salvaged because they are injured (e.g., by a vehicle, fire, or domestic dogs), they may be appropriate for use as control or healthy individuals in comparisons with ill and diseased tortoises. Such tortoises, if sufficient in number, may reduce the need to take healthy animals from the wild for research purposes.

By far the most valuable specimens are tortoises taken while still alive or within a few hours of death and necropsied within 24-72 hours by a licensed clinical veterinary research pathologist with expertise in desert tortoises. The reason is that much more can be learned from a tortoise with very fresh tissues that can be processed for histological and other types of laboratory work. Once a tortoise is frozen, then level of detail that can be obtained from frozen tissues is considerably reduced. One desert tortoise research program involves necropsy of tortoises and the U.S. Geological Survey has a contract with a pathologist, an expert in desert tortoises.

The following protocol deals only with wild desert tortoises, not captives. It is divided into four parts: (1) determination of the status of the tortoise; (2) collection of critical data in the field; (3) instructions on handling the tortoises; and (4) disposition of the tortoise after it has been removed from the field. Several parts of the protocol require contact with Dr. Berry, the Project Leader and Principle Investigator, and whose address and phones numbers are listed at the end.


ACTION 1. DETERMINE THE STATUS OF THE TORTOISE.

The tortoise must have tissues that are sufficiently fresh for laboratory analysis. If the tortoise has died and the organ systems are putrefying (decaying), then the remains are not appropriate for salvage, except for analysis of scute and bone. Decaying remains are not part of this protocol.

1. Tortoise is recently dead (e.g., death is occurring, has just occurred, or death occurred within a few hours). Critical questions to ask include: how fresh are the remains? Are the soft tissues decaying (smelling of putrefaction)? If the remains are fresh (don=t smell, are soft, death has recently occurred), then the tortoise should be salvaged and immediately put on ice, then frozen. GO TO ACTION 2.



2. Tortoise is injured. Most of the injured tortoises observed in the last 10 years are from vehicle encounters, have been in fires, or attacked by domestic dogs. Some are fatally injured and in the process of dying. The shell is fractured in more than one place and/or soft tissues are exposed in the pleural or abdominal cavities. If the tortoise has been injured and the wound infested with maggots, it should be salvaged. Salvage is the appropriate action for all tortoises in these categories. GO TO ACTION 2.
   
   In other cases, the injury does not appear to be severe and the ACTION is unclear. Tortoises have survived attacks by coyotes and loss of one or more limbs and still functioned well in the wild. Tortoises have received cracked shells from vehicles and depression fractures, probably from being stepped on by a cow or run over by an off-road vehicle while in a burrow. Some of these tortoises heal and survive. The key issue is severity and whether flies and thence maggots get into the wounds. ACTION: If in doubt, call Dr. Berry to discuss what action to take. If the tortoise is removed from the wild and taken to a veterinarian, it should not be returned to the wild. Once such action is taken, the tortoise is essentially dead in terms of wild tortoises populations. The key questions to ask are: will it be better to put this animal into captivity and hope that it can be effectively treated? or would it be better to include this animal in a research program?
   
   
3. Tortoise is ill and/or debilitated and/or dying. This category is related to disease, starvation, dehydration, debilitation, etc. The following are some criteria for salvage:
   
   • tortoise is lethargic, cannot pull tightly within shell or only can do so briefly or periodically;
   • tortoise is severely debilitated and non-responsive, lies with legs outstretched and does not raise head, rests it on gular or plastron;
   • tortoise is light in weight for size, exhibits loss of muscle mass, shows no interest in food or water;
   • tortoise has signs of severe upper respiratory disease (purulent discharge from nares and/or eyes; signs of recent purulent discharge from nares);
   • tortoise has lesions in the mouth, potentially from herpes virus;
   • tortoise has moderate to severe shell disease on plastron, carapace, or both and/or limbs; bone may be exposed in small or large areas;
   • tortoise is covered with mold or fungi and exhibits other signs listed above
   • tortoise has a combination of some of the above; and/or
   • tortoise is paralyzed, partially paralyzed, has prolapsed organs protruding from the cloaca.
   
   
   If in doubt, the observer can keep track of such tortoises or hold them in a clean box until reaching Dr. Berry on the telephone to discuss action.

• Collector: Name, agency, full address, email address, telephone numbers, and fax number.
• Time of collection: time of day, state whether in daylight or Pacific Standard Time
• General Location: The exact location is essential for follow up studies. The following types of locality information are very helpful: township, range, and quarter section; GPS data in latitude and longitude or UTMs; elevation; general location with place name, e.g., Cima Dome, Ivanpah Valley; highway or road name and number; miles to nearest road junction or town; highway marker number. Must include county and state.
• Specific Location: examples include in east-bound lane of I-40 at mile marker___; in mouth of burrow in creosote bush scrub habitat, middle of dirt road leading to Rainbow Basin
• Possible/probable cause of injury, illness, or death

• Vegetation Type
• Photographs of tortoise in place
• Collector=s list of actions taken, e.g., time salvaged, time put on ice or frozen, location of frozen animal with data attached (e.g., in freezer at NPS office in Barstow).
• Approximate size of tortoise: measure or estimate length in millimeters or inches straight line distance from the edge of the shell where the head emerges to the posterior shell where the tail is.
• Sex of tortoise

1. Tortoise is recently dead. Place in sturdy plastic bag, preferably a ziplock bag and immediately place on crushed or other ice. Freeze; making certain to include a COPY of the DATA with the tortoise. Place the data in a smaller ziplock bag within the larger ziplock bag and avoid getting data sheets wet or damp. GO TO ACTION 4.



2. Tortoise is injured. If the tortoise is severely injured, place in a box and take to the nearest veterinarian to be euthanized. Call Dr. Berry as soon as possible after the decision is made to salvage. Dr. Berry will try to ensure that once the tortoise is dead, it can be shipped on wet ice (NOT DRY ICE) via FEDEX for immediate necropsy. If such arrangements cannot be made rapidly, then the tortoise will have to be frozen. Dr. Berry may make arrangements for the Collector to directly ship the tortoise to the pathologist via FEDEX or may take the tortoise herself for shipment. Once the tortoise is dead, it should be placed in a ziplock or other heavy plastic bag and sealed with the data sheet enclosed. GO TO ACTION 4.
   
   If the tortoise is injured and is unlikely to recover sufficiently on its own to survive in the wild and if discussions with Dr. Berry result in salvage, then the tortoise may need to either be euthanized or shipped immediately for necropsy. Since Dr. Berry must personally ship each live tortoise herself via air freight, she must be contacted, and arrangements made for her to take the tortoise. Place tortoise in clean cardboard box on newspapers and keep cool and out of the sun. GO TO ACTION 4.



3. Tortoise is ill and/or debilitated and/or dying. Dr. Berry and the Collector will discuss arrangements for transferring the tortoise to her for air freight shipment for necropsy. For some of these tortoises, there is flexibility in terms of days, possibly weeks; for others time is of the essence. Place tortoise in clean cardboard box on newspapers and keep cool and out of the sun. GO TO ACTION 4.

1. Tortoise is dead or has been euthanized, is frozen. These remains can be held for weeks or months, until they can be transferred to Dr. Berry. She may either pick them up or make arrangements to have them delivered to her.



2. Tortoise is dead, has been placed on wet ice (not dry ice) and must be shipped. TIME IS VERY CRITICAL FOR THIS GROUP OF TORTOISES. If, for example, the tortoise is on ice and it is Friday afternoon, shipment via FEDEX to the pathologist may be impossible before the tissues decay. Management of such animals is on a case-by-case basis and depends on: availability of a appropriate pathologist to immediately conduct a necropsy, shipping constraints, weekends and holidays. Contact Dr. Berry for discussion and decision. If all else fails, the tortoise can be frozen.



3. Tortoise is live, must be transferred immediately to Dr. Berry for air freight shipment. Contact Dr. Berry to set up the transfer.

1. Tortoise is collected by employee or contractor for a county, state, or federal agency. A letter on agency letterhead, transferring the tortoise to Dr. Berry, is highly desirable.
2. Contact with USFWS, is highly desirable and should be undertaken. The individual handling desert tortoises (by county) needs to be kept informed of all decisions.
3. Contact with the California department of Fish and Game representative is highly desirable and should be undertaken. Rebecca Jones is the contact person (661-285-5867).