Can California save the Mojave desert tortoise from extinction?
Eight decades ago, the Mojave Desert was home to hundreds of tortoises per square mile. Today, most tortoise populations in the wild have fallen to 2 to 3 adults per square mile, largely due to climate change, loss of habitat and an increase in the raven population. Can California’s Endangered Species Act save the tortoises from extinction?
Jackeline Luna is a former senior producer for video series. Before joining the Los Angeles Times, she interned for Politico, ABC7 and the Mercury News. She graduated from UC Berkeley with a master’s in journalism in May 2018.
Maggie Beidelman is a former senior video director for the Los Angeles Times. Before joining The Times in 2019, Beidelman helped launch AJ+, the digital media channel of Al Jazeera Media Network, where she produced the award-winning series “Untold America.” Beidelman has her master’s in documentary film from the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism.