“We took about 20 of the babies over to Jekyll Island and implanted the tags. It’s like you put in a pet,” he said.

He said they can track the babies and learn about them because they are a declining species. Things that have affected the gopher tortoise numbers are urban development and an upper respiratory disease that will spread through a tortoise population, he said.

“It’s kind of like the flu,” Lockhart said.

Jennifer Glover, interpretive ranger, then narrated the presentation about the various species of tortoises and turtles that they have in captivity. During the presentation, they were shown to the group. The Clark family participated by carrying the animals around the pavilion for the audience to see. Glover told the audience that the gopher tortoise was Georgia’s state reptile. She also said that armadillos, which are not native to Georgia, are one of the predators of the gopher tortoises. These animals will go “burrow to burrow like a buffet,” she said, to eat the eggs.

After the presentation, the audience was divided into groups to go to the area of the park where the gopher tortoise nests were, so that they could watch the babies being placed back in their burrows. The babies’ microchips were “scanned” before they were released by Christine Chessler, a Valdosta State University student who was doing her thesis on this project. The Clark family helped to release the babies with Powell and his staff, under the ever watchful eye of the Animal Planet camera crew.

On Oct. 11, the rest of the babies will be released and this is also open to the public, as well. Those interested in volunteering with the Gopher Tortoise Management Project may contact the park at 896-3551.