Coyotes and kit foxes may dig tortoises out of their burrows to eat. These predators can eat the tortoise without breaking open the shell. It is illegal and inhumane to release captive tortoises in the desert. They may transmit diseases to the wild populations. They probably will not survive.
Mortality rates are high and they are likely to suffer a lingering death.
Each state within the tortoise's geographic range has an adoption program-just call the number listed below for your area. The Desert Tortoise Preserve committee, a non-profit organization, is composed of private citizens who are deeply concerned for the welfare of the wild tortoise populations throughout their geographic range. Inc. P.O. Box 453, Ridgecrest, CA 93556.