Southern pocket gopher facts for kids
The southern pocket gopher (Thomomys umbrinus) is a small animal that belongs to the rodent family. It's a type of pocket gopher, known for its special cheek pouches. You can find these gophers in Mexico and the United States. They usually live in grassy areas and bushy lands high up in the mountains. Southern pocket gophers eat plants. They dig long tunnels underground, and you can often spot their homes by the big piles of dirt they push to the surface.
Quick facts for kids Southern pocket gopher |
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| Photo of Thomomys umbrinus | |
| Conservation status | |
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Thomomys
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| Species: |
umbrinus
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Contents
What They Look Like
Southern pocket gophers come in many different types, called subspecies. These subspecies can look a bit different from each other. They might vary in size, the shape of their skull, or their fur color.
Adult gophers are usually between 200 and 250 millimeters (about 8 to 10 inches) long. Female gophers are generally a little smaller than males.
Their fur on top is a cinnamon-brown color. This color fades to a yellowish-buff on their sides. Their heads look darker because of black tips on their hairs. They have black ears and a black spot behind each ear. Their cheeks and throat are white, and their undersides are yellowish-buff. The top of their tail is brown, and the bottom is yellowish-buff. The very tip of their tail is white all around.
Where They Live
The southern pocket gopher is originally from Mexico and the very southwestern part of the United States. You can find them from the states of Puebla and Veracruz in Mexico. Their home range goes north into Arizona and New Mexico in the United States.
They prefer to live in high places with lots of grass and bushes. They also live in lower areas like desert grasslands and woodlands. You can easily tell if southern pocket gophers are in an area. Just look for the mounds of soil they create when they dig their tunnels.
Life and Habits
Southern pocket gophers do not hibernate. This means they stay active all year long, even in winter. They are busy at most times of the day.
They eat plants they find both above and below the ground. Many animals like to hunt them. These include owls, hawks, snakes, bobcats, coyotes, weasels, and badgers. A southern pocket gopher probably lives for about two to three years. Sometimes, a yellow-nosed cotton rat (Sigmodon ochrognathus) might even share a gopher's burrow!
Reproduction
Southern pocket gophers breed at different times of the year. This depends on where they live. For example, in Arizona, they usually have one litter of babies. This happens in late winter or early spring. A litter typically has four or five young, but sometimes there can be as many as ten!
Conservation Status
The southern pocket gopher is quite common in places where it can find good habitat. This is true across most of its home range. However, some groups of gophers are small and might disappear and then come back.
We don't know if their total numbers are going up or down. But, no big threats have been found for them. Because of this, the IUCN has listed this animal as being of "least concern". This means they are not currently at risk of disappearing.
Images for kids
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A southern pocket gopher
See also
In Spanish: Tuza para niños
