US Marine Corps relocate more than 1,100 desert tortoises

The US Marine Corps relocated approximately 1,100 desert tortoises out of California's Mojave Desert as the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms underwent expansion and prepared for future training exercises.

The relocation effort, a two-week-long process that began April 8th, involved finding the tortoises, assessing their health and the moving them to pre-selected new areas.

According to a press release from the Department of Defense, this was the largest translocation that the Marine Corps has ever conducted.