"Speedy" the Gopher Tortoise Abducted in North Port Believed Dead

It has all the drama of a major abduction. A gopher tortoise named "Speedy" was taken from his home neighborhood in front of the residents. The gopher tortoise was then put in a van and taken away.

Gary Morse, reporting in the (Florida) Walton Sun, tells us that a felon has been arrested in connection with the abduction of the rare gopher tortoise. Morse's article "North Port man arrested for killing imperiled gopher," goes on to say that a person with a large number of arrests was put in jail after police found tortoise remains in his garbage.

This incident started when a North Port man named Theodore Cuyler, Jr. picked Speedy up and put him in his van and took off. While he did that residents were yelling at him. They then called the Wildlife Alert Hotline who notified police.

Police went to the Cuyler residence where they confronted Cuyler but they couldn't get him to talk.

One of the officers, Bob O'Horo didn't believe what Cuyler told them, or didn't tell them so he went back and put the residence under surveillance with two other officers

An hour after midnight, O'Horo and company were wading through Cuyler's garbage when they found a gopher tortoise dismembered. They were unsure whether or not it was Speedy but it didn't matter it was enough evidence to get Cuyler arrested. He is now out on $1,000 bond.

What is all the fuss about a tortoise?

The gopher tortoise is a very rare species that is a "keystone species" meaning that their life and actions in the wild affects about 130 other species.

I have included a link to a fascinating site that is educational with respect to the gopher turtle.

These tortoises are really a species that functions below the radar. They used to be popular as pets but now their habitat is in danger.

According to this professional site they aid 300 species, not 130. That is quite an impact.

Some of the animals that they help are the cotton mouse, the gopher frog and the indigo snake. The animals that they help don't harm then

To get more information about the gopher turtle you may call Gary Morse at (863)-648-3200 or (863)-227-3830.

References:

http://www.waltonsun.com/articles/port_3009___article.html/arrested_tortoises.html
http://www.nbbd.com/godo/ef/gtortoise/
http://www.myfwc.com