{"id":396902,"date":"2025-11-22T12:30:49","date_gmt":"2025-11-22T12:30:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/396902\/"},"modified":"2025-11-22T12:30:49","modified_gmt":"2025-11-22T12:30:49","slug":"endangered-tortoise-inspires-jacksonville-conservation-movement-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/396902\/","title":{"rendered":"Endangered tortoise inspires Jacksonville conservation movement"},"content":{"rendered":"

JACKSONVILLE, Fla.<\/strong> \u2013 Every morning, Brett Desser climbs the stairs of her Jacksonville home to wake someone special. <\/p>\n

\u201cScooter!\u201d she says as she goes up to the second floor.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not a dog pawing at the door, or a cat curled on a windowsill, or even a child wrapped in blankets. <\/p>\n

Instead, she\u2019s heading to greet Scooter \u2013 her endangered African spurred tortoise who, true to her \u201csassy\u201d personality, prefers to sleep in until noon.<\/p>\n

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The species, also called the sulcata tortoise, is the largest mainland tortoise in the world<\/a> and is native to the southern edge of the Sahara Desert. It faces significant challenges in the wild, being classified as endangered due to habitat loss from agricultural expansion, desertification, and the market for their shells.<\/p>\n

Scooter in her pen eating a mushroom. (News4JAX)<\/p>\n

When Desser first received Scooter four years ago, the tortoise was barely the size of a quarter, arriving in a simple shoebox. <\/p>\n

\u201cI adopted her and I adopted everything that goes along with her,\u201d Desser said. \u201cI knew she had to stay at a certain temperature, needed fresh air every day, and fresh vegetables every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now at age 4, Scooter weighs around 10 pounds but could reach half her full size by the time she turns 7. <\/p>\n

The commitment to her care is extensive \u2013 from daily soakings for hydration to carefully controlled climate conditions. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I get my grocery order, everybody knows Scooter because they know how many bags of fruits and vegetables I get,\u201d Desser said.<\/p>\n

For Desser, Scooter has become much more than a unique pet. <\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s not only brought me peace and happiness and laughs, but she\u2019s like the daughter I never had,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

Room decorations for Scooter the African spurred tortoise. (News4JAX)<\/p>\n

While Desser said that Scooter certainly has an attitude, she said the animal has helped Desser manage her anxiety and taught her patience.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a life long commitment, but she brings so much joy to not only my life, to everyone that I come in contact with\u2019s life,\u201d Desser says. \u201cStrangers, neighbors \u2013 when she gets bigger and she\u2019s walking the beach with me, she can make other people happy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Desser has transformed her pet ownership into an urgent call for conservation education. <\/p>\n

She regularly takes Scooter, often with festive hats and headbands, to local schools. A 2020 survey indicated as few as 400 of these tortoises may be around.<\/p>\n

Scooter munching on a green bean. (News4JAX)<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no reason why one of the closest animals to a dinosaur would have to go extinct because of the human race,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

Desser\u2019s conservation efforts have expanded beyond reptiles. A former personal trainer, she found a new calling in environmental conservation. <\/p>\n

\u201cI love helping people reach their goals…but I just knew that the Earth needed me more.\u201d<\/p>\n

She created a gardening and landscape business focused exclusively on pollinator-friendly plants, launching the Monarch Mafia initiative to protect endangered butterfly populations. <\/p>\n

The monarch butterfly was listed as \u201cendangered\u201d by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in July 2022<\/a>. In December 2024, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed listing it as \u201cthreatened\u201d <\/a>under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you plant it, they will come,\u201d Desser said, encouraging Jacksonville residents to plant milkweed to support monarch butterflies.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s extremely important to me. I want the people I love, my family and friends, and those that come after me to have all the wonderful things that I have in life, all the fresh fruits and vegetables,\u201d she explains. \u201cI don\u2019t know how that\u2019s going to pan out unless we all do something.\u201d<\/p>\n

Caterpillar hanging inside Desser’s home in Jacksonville. (News4JAX)<\/p>\n

The commitment to Scooter also extends far beyond Desser\u2019s lifetime. Given the species\u2019 lengthy lifespan, she has included provisions in her will for two generations of care for the tortoise. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to focus on something other than ourselves for this to all work,\u201d Desser said. \u201cIt would mean everything to me to make a difference before I leave this earth because this earth has given so much to us.\u201d<\/p>\n

More information about both Scooter and the Monarch Mafia conservation efforts can be found @ispeakbutterly on Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2025 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n