06/09/2026
It is with immense sadness that we share the passing of our beloved ambassador gopher tortoise, Melanie.
Over the weekend, we discovered that a tunnel collapse had occurred within one of our tortoise enclosures. During Florida's wet season, underground burrows dug by tortoises are at risk of collapse due to a combination of heavy rainfall and saturated soil.
Once the collapse was discovered, our team immediately initiated a headcount of the tortoises occupying the affected pens. We were devastated when we were unable to locate Melanie. Multiple volunteers, as well as several board members, instantly began rescue efforts, excavating the space by hand for several hours, well into the night.
Given Melanie's history of being denied a healthy and appropriate diet prior to her arrival at ROW, she had developed significant metabolic bone disease (MBD), a condition commonly seen in tortoises that have been improperly cared for in captivity. Because MBD can leave the shell, bones, and nails, weakened and fragile, we suspected that she would not be able to dig herself free from the collapsed burrow. Our team worked delicately as they dug through several of soil, sifting it all by hand to look for her.
On Saturday, our worst fears were realized when Melanie was found several feet beneath hard-packed, wet soil. The entire ROW team is heartbroken. ROW President and Founder, Mikayla Frierson, worked virtually nonstop throughout the rescue effort spanning two days. Later that day, Mikayla, the volunteers, and board members, who worked so hard to find Melanie before it was too late, laid her to rest on our property and planted a fruit tree to honor her memory.
During her time at ROW, Melanie taught both our team and the public many lessons, most importantly, the value of allowing wildlife to remain wild. Melanie served as an ambassador animal because she had been deemed nonrelease, meaning she could not return to the wild. While we will deeply miss her, we know that her legacy and work as an ambassador will continue through the awareness and education she helped inspire regarding Florida's native gopher tortoises and the many challenges faced by wildlife throughout our region.
Melanie may have been small, but her impact was and will continue to be immeasurably large.
As an organization, we believe in being fully transparent with our supporters, especially during difficult moments such as this. We thank you for your continued support as we navigate this heartbreaking loss.
