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Desert Tortoises & Cattle Cohabit Well

M

Mike

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 10, 2005
Messages
28,480
Location
Montgomery, Al
https://journals.uair.arizona.edu/index.php/rangelands/article/viewFile/10776/10049
The toothless tortoise is ill equipped to harvest and
masticate range forage. The tortoise can harvest only
tender vegetation, and it can't masticate even that. The
tortoise can't process enough bulky, low analysis forage
fast enough to meet its nutritional requirements (Nagy &
Medica 1986). They solved this problem long ago—they
allow other animals to do it for them. Desert tortoises feed
primarily on dung. The more animals using the range, the
more dung, which makes more food available for tortoises.
In the millennia preceding the advent of domestic livestock
on the range, tortoises subsisted on pellets excreted
by rabbits, deer, and bighorn and scats of predators.
Tortoise populations adjusted to the amount of dung
available; (Mollhausen 1854).

It is also a natural law that if the food supply is diminished
for any population, that population will adjust to
come in balance with the reduced food supply. For 50
years BLM has been reducing the numbers of livestock
permitted on the Federal Range. For 50 years desert tortoise
populations have been declining.
Click to expand...
 
Big Muddy rancher said:
Most Species at Risk SAR that are still on the rangeland are there because of grazing cattle not inspite of them.

They seem to forget SAR don't thrive on pavement.
Click to expand...

So, why did they cut Bundy's cattle maximum number down to 150 head Total on that much acreage?
 
Mike said:
Big Muddy rancher said:
Most Species at Risk SAR that are still on the rangeland are there because of grazing cattle not inspite of them.

They seem to forget SAR don't thrive on pavement.
Click to expand...

So, why did they cut Bundy's cattle maximum number down to 150 head Total on that much acreage?
Click to expand...

They didn't have education that we try to give environmentalists up here. :?

Maybe they have an ulterior motive.

We are just guessing.
 

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