152 Order RODENTIA 



Life History. — The plains pocket gopher lives continuously, 

 or nearly so, below ground and comes to the surface only to 

 dump earth from its burrow or to make very short forays in 

 quest of food. Normally, it breeds, nests, feeds, and carries on 

 all other activities below ground. Its burrow system is several 

 hundred feet long, and each animal throws up many mounds or 

 piles of dirt as it digs its burrow system. 



Except for a short time during the breeding season, each bur- 

 row system is occupied by a single individual. The tunnels usu- 

 ally are not deeper than 4 feet; they have a main nest, and pos- 

 sibly subsidiary nests, and several storage chambers of food. 

 In the storage chambers, the gopher stores roots, stems, and 

 leaves of sweet clover, alfalfa, dandelion, plantain, and other 

 herbs, as well as roots of shrubby plants. It digs innumerable 

 side tunnels to the roots of likely food plants. The gopher cuts 

 the roots in appropriate lengths, stuffs the pieces adeptly into its 

 cheek pouches, and carries them to its storage chamber. 



This gopher has certain adaptations for a lifetime within a 

 narrow, dark tunnel. The tip of the tail, which is highly sensi- 

 tive, is employed as a guide when the animal is backing. With the 

 tail projecting straight back, except for a little crook at the end 

 which causes the tip to touch the wall or floor of the tunnel, the 

 gopher can run backward almost as swiftly and surely as it can 

 run forward. The skin of the gopher is loose and easily stretched, 

 allowing the animal to reverse itself readily within a narrow 

 tunnel. The lips are modified in such a way that they can be 

 closed behind the incisors and thus keep dirt out of the mouth 

 while the animal is gouging out soil or cutting roots. The long, 

 curved claws aid in digging and pushing dirt from the tunnel. 



The pocket gopher in Illinois probably has only one litter a 

 year, born some time between early March and early May. 

 There may be as many as six young in a litter, but the usual 

 number is four. The mother, having driven the male from her 

 burrow system soon after the breeding season is over, raises the 

 young by herself. 



Weasels, badgers, and snakes, particularly bull snakes, are 

 the principal enemies of the pocket gopher. The tunnel en- 

 trances are kept solidly blocked with dirt at almost all times 

 and this may discourage enemies from entering. 



Signs. — Mounds of dirt in grasslands, in hayfields, or along 

 grassy roadsides in central Illinois may be signs of the pocket 



