Pocket Gophers

Name: Gopher
Size: 12 to 30 cm (4.7 to 12 in) in length, and weighing a few hundred grams. A few species reach weights approaching 1 kg (2.2 lb).
Food: Roots of trees and shrubs and your vegetable gardens,and lawns.
Behavior: All pocket gophers are burrowers and like moist soil. Most gophers have brown fur which often closely matches the color of the soil in which they live. Their most characteristic feature is their large cheek pouches, from which the word "pocket" in their name derives. These pouches are fur-lined, and can be turned inside out. They extend from the side of the mouth well back onto the shoulders. They have small eyes and a short, hairy tail which they use to feel around tunnels when they walk backwards. They love to dig and will push out mounds of fresh dirt about 20 cm (7.9 in) in diameter, to clear the tunnel. Pocket gophers are solitary outside of the breeding season, aggressively maintaining territories that vary in size depending on the resources available. Males and females may share some burrows and nesting chambers if their territories border each other, but in general, each pocket gopher inhabits its own individual tunnel system. Each litter typically consists of two to five young,The young are born blind and helpless, and are weaned at around forty days.

Some Links to information about Pocket Gophers:

• Pocket Gophers, Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum

Photo Credits:

The information on this page was taken from Wikipedia under a GNU Free Documentation License unless otherwise noted.