TUCSON, AZ (AP) -
Arizonans who can no longer care for their captive tortoises have led to a surplus of the reptiles at adoption facilities.
Experts said that having to care for captive tortoises takes away resources for wild tortoise conservation, the Arizona Daily Star reported.
In Tucson, state wildlife officials and the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum are working to find adoptive homes for the captive tortoises.
Captive desert tortoises can live from 50 to 100 years and cannot be released into the wild because they could jeopardize wild populations by introducing disease or displacing them from their territory.
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