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Turbo is the Santa Clarita Valley’s answer to Pennsylvania’s Punxsutawney Phil the national mascot for Groundhog’s Day — his awakening heralds the changing of seasons.
Still a little groggy on Friday, Turbo made a slow march around his small enclosure on the east side of the center. He climbed across a branch and dunked a clawed foot into his water dish as he scooted around the desert habitat before stopping to rest with the sun on his hard-shelled back.
Recreation Services Supervisor Chris Mowry said the tortoises typically wake up from hibernation in April. But he may have woken up late this year because of the El Niño weather system.
Turbo and his neighbor, Speedy, are endangered California Desert Tortoises. Both arrived at the center in 1990, Regional Park Superintendent Frank Hoffman said.
Turbo is estimated to be about 75 years old, so he’s in his golden years. Desert tortoises can live to be 100, Hoffman said. Center workers don’t know where Turbo came from.
Speedy, who’s about 30, was confiscated by the California Department of Fish and Game and may have been used to breed, according to the center’s files.
The two bachelors are kept apart because they’d fight over turf if they were together, Hoffman said.
The tortoise’s habitat is generally the Mojave Desert of Southeast California, Southern Nevada and Northern Arizona. The reptiles are permitted with the federal government. They can’t be released back into the wild because they could introduce domestic diseases, Hoffman said.
Hoffman said unlike bears, tortoises enter a “true hibernation” during winter.
“They physically shut their bodies down,” Hoffman said. “They don’t eat, they don’t drink, their heart rate slows down. They’re completely inactive.”
Both tortoises woke up to newly renovated habitats, care of a local Eagle Scout troop. The entire center was recently remodeled with an eco-friendly focus and now boasts dual-pane windows, insulation made of reclaimed materials and a mulch parking lot surface.
Turbo will spend his days basking in the sun, munching on foliage, enjoying human guests and enduring canine visitors.
“He doesn’t like dogs,” Hoffman said. “He tries to bite them.”
Turbo’s enclosure has thick, wooden-plank fencing, so he hasn’t been successful on that front.
“He’s got a very sweet temperament. He loves to educate the children,” Hoffman said.
Turbo and Speedy are still waking up from their long nap.
“They’re still going like this,” Hoffman said, rubbing his eyes with his fists.
Visit Turbo, Speedy and other critters from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday to Sunday at the Placerita Canyon Nature Center at 19152 Placerita Canyon Road in Newhall. The center will host an open house and family festival from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. today. For details, visit placerita.org.
