Gopherus morafkai

My family and I were treated to another find of these increasingly rare inhabitants of the Sonoran Desert. This
one is my third spotting of one in Sabino Canyon. As a bonus, we actually saw another tortoise in a different
area of the canyon, making for a really special treat. This was a good morning to hike the canyon.

These tortoises are vegetarians, and the red stain around its mouth is likely from either prickly
pear or Saguaro cactus fruit. They are good scavengers of the ripened fruit that falls to the ground.