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This four minute short movie depicts the hatching of a Mojave Desert Tortoise. This is the continuation of a sixty million year process for this threatened species. One of the surprising moments in the movie is when the hatchling tumbles from its shell and is propped up by its yolk. This is an evolutionary adaptation where the young absorb the yolk over several hours and they then use that nutrition to sustain themselves during the first few months of their lives. This is an especially handy adaptation as the young tortoises hatch in late summer when temperatures can exceed 110 degrees making the search for food especially difficult.

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