GOPHER

Eastern pocket gopher (Geomys) also called Pocket Gopher, any of numerous stocky rodents of the family Geomyidae (order Rodentia), found in North and Central America. There are 8 genera and about 40 species of gophers, the chief genera in North America being Geomys (eastern pocket gophers; see photograph) and Thomomys (western pocket gophers). Gophers are thickset animals that range from 13 to 45 cm (5 to 18 inches) in length, including a short, sparsely haired tail. They have small eyes and ears, short necks, chisel-like front teeth, and long, strong claws on their forefeet. Large, fur-lined cheek pouches (the "pockets") open externally on each side of the mouth. Coat colour varies among the species from almost white through brown to black. Gophers live alone in extensive, rather shallow, underground burrows marked by a series of rounded earth mounds on the surface. They feed on the underground parts of plants and obtain their food as they tunnel along, digging with their foreclaws and teeth. Occasionally, gophers venture a short distance from the burrow entrance to collect succulent herbs, cutting the plant stems into short pieces and carrying them in their cheek pouches back to underground storage chambers. Since gophers do not hibernate, they must hoard stems, roots, and tubers in the storage chambers to survive the winter. They are solitary and pugnacious animals and tolerate company only during the breeding season, in spring or early summer. About four weeks after the parents mate, a litter of two to six young are born. The females care for the helpless, blind, naked young for about six weeks, at which time they begin to develop rapidly; in several more weeks they leave the mother's burrow to dig their own nests. Because of their burrowing and their feeding habits, gophers are pests in some areas. They may seriously damage crops. Their burrows, however, aid in aerating and adding organic material to the soil and also collect runoff water from melting snow. Trapping, poisoning, and fumigation of the burrows are effective methods of control. The name gopher is often used for another rodent, the 13-lined ground squirrel (see ground squirrel).