Gopherus morafkai
Silhouette: Andrew A. Farke · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
The Sonoran Desert tortoise (Gopherus morafkai), or Morafka's desert tortoise, is a species of terrestrial chelonian reptile of the family Testudinidae (tortoises) native to the Sonoran Desert. In 2011, using DNA evidence, geography, and behavioral observations, it was concluded that two distinct species of desert tortoise exist on either side (east-west) of the Colorado River:
the Mojave or Agassiz's desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii); known primarily from the California counties of Imperial, Inyo, Kern, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, and San Diego. Its range continues northeast of Death Valley and the Mojave Desert through the Nevada counties of Clark, Esmeralda, Lincoln and Nye, as well as Mohave County, in Arizona, and extreme southwestern Utah, near Zion National Park.
the Sonoran or Morafka's desert tortoise (Gopherus morafkai); found east of the Colorado River, primarily in the Arizona counties of Cochise, Gila, Graham, La Paz, Maricopa, Mohave, Pima, Pinal, Santa Cruz, Yavapai and Yuma. Found in the Sonoran Desert, in the states of Sonora and Sinaloa, Mexico. The new species' name is in honor of the late Professor David Joseph Morafka of California... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saguaro National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zoo Pilsen | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 2 | Ecological Center of Sonora | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 3 | Phoenix Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Wildlife World Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Guadalajara Zoo | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 6 | Colchester Zoo | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 7 | Oregon Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Perth Zoo | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 10 | Hutchinson Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 11 | Reid Park Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 12 | Safari Masai Mara | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 13 | The Living Planet Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 14 | OdySea Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 15 | Tennessee Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 16 | Sea Life Arizona | 🇺🇸 United States |
No species of the same family or order lives in Saguaro National Park, so these are its closest relatives here: other reptiles.
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Morafka’s Desert Tortoise sighting in Saguaro National Park on a given day, based on 547 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 13th most-seen of the 51 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August and September
In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Morafka’s Desert Tortoise in Saguaro National Park on a given day, against about 10% in March–May and December–January, the lowest months. Those are among Saguaro National Park's wettest months, with about 45 mm of rain a month against almost none in May.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Morafka’s Desert Tortoise sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Saguaro National Park, in our data
Saguaro National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Morafka’s Desert Tortoise sightings: about 20% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Morafka’s Desert Tortoise is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Saguaro National Park (547 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
