Why Is This Gopher Tortoise Head-Banging?

This is Gertrude the grumpy gopher tortoise. In Florida, Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi, their populations are listed as threatened due to human activity. With their powerful legs, Gopher tortoises can dig burrows up to 40 feet in length.

These tortoises are a keystone species due to their beneficial impact on their ecosystem. Many different species rely on the gopher tortoises’ burrows to survive. Gertrude is most likely ‘head-banging’ because she is protecting her burrow.