Also learn how to apply to legally adopt one

PHOENIX -  Each year during monsoon season, your odds of seeing a desert tortoise go way up because it's the animal's most active time of year. Arizonans can take steps to protect these creatures as they move through our cities during the summer. People can also apply to adopt a desert tortoise that is already in captivity and give it a good home.

"We want to make sure that every desert tortoise that comes into our rehabilitation facility receives great care and an appropriate home," says Sandy Cate, coordinator at the Arizona Game and Fish Department Wildlife Center, which often adopts out tortoises. "However, if you see a tortoise in the wild, let it stay wild."

Under the Endangered Species Act, the desert tortoise is recognized as a threatened species in parts of California, Nevada, Utah and northwestern Arizona. However, the Sonoran desert population in Arizona is not listed as threatened. Regardless, if a person sees a tortoise, he or she should not and cannot legally remove the animal from its habitat.

"People think they're doing the animals a favor by taking them home, but that's usually harmful to the tortoise," says Arizona Game and Fish Department Desert Tortoise Coordinator Daren Riedle. "Taking a wild tortoise home is illegal in Arizona. The animal could also die, if it doesn't receive proper care."

Here are some things to do to help desert tortoises:

1. If you see a tortoise crossing a busy road, gently pick it up and move it to the other side. Carry it so that it's level to the ground, and move it in the same direction it was headed.

2. Do not try to help a tortoise by moving it to another area. Most tortoises stay in the same small area during their entire lives, so they may not know where to find food and shelter, if you move them.

If you want to share your yard with a desert tortoise, you can legally obtain one through state-sanctioned adoption facilities, including the Arizona Game and Fish Department Wildlife Center in Phoenix and the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum in Tucson. Several requirements must be met through an adoption application process. Call Sandy Cate at The Wildlife Center at (623) 582-9806 for more information on the process. Information can also be found at the Arizona Game and Fish Department Web site at azgfd.gov/tortoise. Look under the "Downloads" section for an adoption packet.

If you have been keeping a tortoise at your home, please do not release it into the wild. Biologists are concerned that captive tortoises with an upper respiratory disease may be coming into contact with healthy tortoises. In the process, the disease is being passed.

Desert tortoises can live as long as 50 to 100 years. They can grow to be about 14 inches long. An Arizona Game and Fish Commission rule prohibits taking these creatures from the wild. Federal law bans their transport across state lines.