Hobbies And Interests
Physical Characteristics
Gophers are small rodents between 5 and 14 inches long. Males are typically larger than females. Each gender is muscular and stout. All gophers have soft fur that varies in color from brown to black and four legs with sharp claws in front for digging. To further aid with digging and eating roots, Gophers have distinctly long, hard front teeth. Their eyes and ears are small, and their tails are short. The longer name pocket gopher refers to the pouches present on the inside of gophers' mouths. All gophers are pocket gophers. The internal pouches are used to carry food and turn inside-out with ease. When filled to capacity, the pouches make a gopher's head appear to be two times larger than its usual size.
Behavioral Characteristics
Gophers are active at dawn and dusk. However, some species burrow at night. They are generally anti-social and spend most of their lives underground away from other gophers. When they encounter other gophers, they usually fight, except during mating season. The gestation period for gophers may take as few as 18 days or may exceed 30 days, depending on the species. Gophers remain with their mothers for approximately two months, at which point they leave to form burrows of their own.
Burrowing
One of the most distinct characteristics of gophers are the tunnels they create. Gophers make two types of tunnels. One is shallow and long. It results from gophers digging through the upper layer of the ground seeking vegetation to eat in the form of roots and small plants. The other tunnel is deep and may plunge several hundred feet below the ground. These deep tunnels are part of complex system within which gophers live for many years. The system of deep tunnels includes specialized areas for food storage and fecal matter. Above ground, a mound of dirt will appear above the entrance to each type of tunnel. The burrowing lifestyle of gophers helps ecosystems by tilling the soil and increasing soil fertility. In contrast, gophers may kill otherwise healthy trees and plants as a result of eating their roots. Gophers can also ruin the appearance of lawns.
Obstacles
Gophers dislike the roots of annual grains and will avoid eating these plants. People wishing to deter gophers from garden areas may benefit from planting annual grains as a barrier crop. Additionally, gophers are the prey of owls, weasels, snakes and coyotes. Introducing some of these animals to an environment shared with gophers can reduce the gopher population if desired.