The above picture is what I saw when I first arrived at the beach this evening. A dead gopher tortoise in the surf, just laying there as the waves lapped away. I took one look and suspected that it was a drowning. This is something that I learned about in my Florida master naturalist classes. Well meaning people see a gopher tortiose up in the dunes area near the beach. They assume it's a sea turtle of some sorts and they are going to be nice and "help" it get back to the ocean. 

via www.volusiacountymoms.com