Pocket Gopher

Pocket gopher, with a view of its digging claws

NPS

 

Pocket gopher track

Scientific Name

Thomomys talpoides

Identification

• 6–10 inches long, 2.6–6.3 ounces.
• Very small eyes and ears; brown or tan smooth fur; short tail; long front claws for burrowing; large external pouches for carrying food.

Habitat

• Only range restriction seems to be topsoil depth, which limits burrowing.
• Preyed upon by owls, badgers, grizzly bears, coyotes, weasels, and other predators.
• Snakes, lizards, ground squirrels, deer mice, and other animals use their burrows.
• In the top 6–8 inches below the surface they forage for forbs, some grasses and underground stems, bulbs, and tubers.

Behavior

• Transport food in cheek pouches to underground cache. Grizzly bears sometimes dig up these caches, including an unsuspecting gopher.
• Do not hibernate, but instead burrow into the snow; often fill tunnels with soil forming worm-like cores that remain in the spring after snow melts.
• Breed in May and April; one litter of five young per year.
• Burrow systems are elaborate and often bi-level; can be 400–500 feet long.
• Very territorial; only one per burrow.