Mountain pocket gopher facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Mountain pocket gopher |
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The mountain pocket gopher (Thomomys monticola) is a small rodent that lives underground. It belongs to the gopher family, Geomyidae. You can find these gophers only in California and Nevada, especially in the Sierra Nevada mountains.
Amazing Features
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Mountain pocket gophers are special! They have tiny ears and eyes. Their cheeks have fur-lined pouches, like little pockets. They use these pouches to carry food.
These gophers have short legs. Their feet have big claws, which are perfect for digging. They also have smooth front teeth called incisors. These teeth help them chew through roots.
Most of their time is spent underground. They are usually active at night. An adult gopher is about 27 centimeters long. They weigh around 91 grams. Their fur can be brown or gray.
Where They Live
Mountain pocket gophers live in many places. You can find them at the edges of mountain meadows. They also live in wet meadows and coastal prairies. They even live on the slopes of pine and fir forests.
These gophers dig amazing tunnel systems. They like soft, crumbly soil on the forest floor. Their tunnels can cover a huge area. It can be anywhere from 200 to 2,000 square feet!
They prefer to have plants growing above their tunnels. This helps hide their homes. When they dig, they push dirt to the surface. This creates small piles of dirt.
In summer, they dig tunnels where the water is deeper. This keeps their homes cool. In winter, they move higher up. They like to stay under trees to avoid freezing. When there's lots of snow, they push dirt cylinders out of their burrows. These dirt tubes stick out above the snow.
What They Eat
Mountain pocket gophers don't need to drink water. They get all the water they need from their food! They are herbivores, meaning they only eat plants.
Their favorite foods are forbs. These are plants like whitethorn caenothus and gooseberry. They also really like lupine plants.
These gophers mostly eat roots and bulbs. They find these parts of plants underground. They store extra food in their tunnels. They rarely come above ground to eat.
Life Cycle
Mountain pocket gophers usually mate in late spring and summer. This happens from May to July. They mostly live alone. They only come together to mate.
They have babies once a year. The mother gopher gives birth in an underground nest. She usually has three to four babies in each litter.
