It’s a dirty job. It involves brush and mud and bramble. Occasionally, a snake comes along to liven things up. Or a skunk.

It’s all in a day’s work for state Department of Natural Resources biologists when they’re searching for gopher tortoises. The tortoise, the state’s official reptile, is considered threatened due to habitat loss.

On a recent day, five biologists prowled about in the sandy soil of South Georgia, sticking a remote-controlled camera in burrows. They found several tortoises. They came across a variety of bugs, a beautiful bird and some dried snake skins.

But did they startle any snakes?

Read the entire story on myajc.com.

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Rose Scott signals as "Closer Look" goes on the air in the WABE studio. An Atlanta resident left WABE a $3 million donation, a boost after WABE lost $1.9 million in annual funding from the Corporation of Public Broadcasting. (Ben Gray for the AJC 2023)

Credit: Ben Gray