Florida wildlife officials want residents and visitors to know that not all turtles can swim.

In the previous month, the FWC or Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission got reports good Samaritans made attempts at saving these poor tortoises by unknowingly releasing them into the ocean. Unknown to these people, land-based Gopher tortoises will drown when released into water.

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FWC said that what caused the confusion among visitors to the beaches was that Gopher tortoises nest in dunes, which is also where sea turtles nest.

Gopher tortoises can be distinguished from sea turtles by their limbs. Gopher tortoises have toes with claws on each toe, while sea turtles have flippers with only one or two claws on each foreflipper. Officials say identification can usually be made without handling the reptiles.

This tortoise specie is included in a list of five species of sea turtles in the area. All of these tortoises are under the protection of law because they're either endangered or threatened. They're protected by the Endangered Species Act plus Florida statutes.

Many tortoises' species are endangered because they live on land and suffer more from environmental issues than sea turtles. And among these endangered tortoises are the Gopher tortoises, whose habitats are threatened by the development of land into buildings and roadways.

TagsNot All Turtles Can Swim FWC Reports, Sea turtles, tortoise, gopher tortoise, marine animals, difference between turtle and tortoise, endangered species