10 



CIRCULAR 884, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



cut into small pieces, placed in the cheek pouches with the front feet, 

 carried to the nest, and eaten there. Stores or caches of food are seldom 

 made by this gopher. 



The pocket gopher probably eats most of die succulent plant species 

 grooving in its range. Observations, however, showed definite preferences 

 for some of the more common broadleaved plants. Roots of common 

 dandelion are probably this gopher's favorite food. Other underground 

 parts favored include those of bluegrasses, oniongrasses. yampa. Amer- 

 ican bistort, and agoseris.. often called mountain dandelion. Bulbs of 

 onions, vellow fritillary, lambstongue fawnlilly (dogtooth violet), and 

 brodiea are readily taken. The gopher also feeds on young pines, quak- 

 ing: aspen, and other trees and shrubs in its foraging range. Use of the 

 iv-tvpe food, however, is more prevalent under cover of snow. 



To determine how much food a gopher will consume, five caged 

 Dalles pocket gophers were fed freshly harvested native plants, sweet- 

 potatoes, and carrots for a 3-day period. The average daily food con- 

 sumption per gopher was 71.25 grams green weight .table 1 . This 

 empirical figure for the amount of forage consumed by pocket gophers 

 is not a measure of their total drain on vegetation. Much of a plant that 

 the animal cuts into small pieces for stowing in its cheek pouches is 

 wasted. Unconsumed plants often die when their roots are cut bv 

 burrowing gophers. 



Table 1. — Food consumption of five caged Dalles pocket gophers for a 

 3-day period, June 14-16, 1938 



Date of feeding 



and plants fed 1 



Amount 

 fed 



gopher 



Green weight of ve.:' : c 



Gather 

 No. 1 



Gopher 

 No. : No. ■ 



Gopht 



No. A 



June 14. 9 a. m.: 



Common dandelion 



Veich 



Lupine 



June 14. 4 p. m.: 



Vetch 



Groundsel 



Carrotleaf 



leptotaenia 



June 15. 10 a. m.: 



Groundsel 



Agoseris 



Western yarrow 

 June 15. 6 p. m.: 



Common dandelion . 



American bistort . . . 



Cinquefoil 



June 16. 1 p. m.: 



Vetch 



Common dandelion . 

 June 16. 7 p. m.: 



Sweetpotato- 



Carrot (roots onh 1 . 



Average 



Grams 



10 



10 

 10 



20 

 20 



20 



20 

 20 

 20 



30 

 30 



20 



40 

 40 



50 



50 



Grams 

 S.5 

 8.9 

 4.3 



19.6 

 20.0 



17.S 



10.0 

 6.6 



5.7 



30.0 



8.6 

 6.6 



7.6 

 17.7 



15.4 

 21.6 



69.6 



Grams 



7.8 

 7.8 



6.4 



20.0 

 20.0 



20.0 



10.8 

 11.3 



5.4 



30.0 

 24.6 



13.9 



13.3 

 11.0 



■4.5 



Grams 

 9.4 



5.9 



19.9 

 20.0 



18.6 



11.4 



11.0 



6.2 



30.0 



24.4 



3.7 



19.1 



11.0 

 19.4 





- : 



9.1 

 8.8 

 6.0 



- 1 

 8.3 

 8.1 



7.4 



19.7 

 17.9 



19.9 

 20.(1 



15.8 



19.2 



7.5 





11.7 



7.7 



30.0 



20.1 



8.1 



9.3 

 11.3 



13.2 



14.6 



" _ 



8.6 



4.4 



6.7 

 12.2 



7.0 



14.1 



9.6 



8.6 



" 



Grams 



- _ 



6.00 



19.58 



1S.2S 



10.46 

 9.84 

 5.88 



29.92 



I 88 

 7.62 



9.54 



12-50 



15.04 



71.25 



: With the exception of the last feeding, all materials consisted of plant top: 

 - Animals were fed sweetpotatoes for several da\ s prior to test. 



