14 



NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA. 



[no. 3! 



in the pellets of these bii'ds. Coyotes, foxes, and bobcats pounce 

 upon them as they push out their loads of earth, and badgers occa- 

 sionally dig them out. Weasels are probably their greatest enemies, 

 and when one gets into a gopher burrow there is no escape for the 

 occupant. Snakes also prey upon them to such an extent that one 

 common species is known as the gopher snake. The protection of 

 such natural enemies of the gopher as prove least harmful in other 

 ways, notably hawks, owls, weasels, and badgers, is of the utmost 

 importance as an adjunct in the control of what is proving in many 

 sections one of the worst of our rodent pests. 



DESTRUCTION OF POCKET GOPHERS. 



Pocket gophers are easily trapped and poisoned, and on limited 

 areas may be reduced to harmless numbers by systematic, intelligent 

 effort. In extensive fields and meadows and along systems of 

 irrigation ditches or reservoirs their control often presents problems 

 of considerable magnitude. The Biological Survey has made special 

 study of the many conditions under which injuries from gophers 

 occur and of the most economical and efficient means of their control. 

 The results have appeared in several pubhcations of the United 

 States Department of Agriculture. ^ 



GENERAL CHARACTERS. 



The short legs, strong frame, and powerful muscles of pocket 

 gophers peculiarly fit them for subterranean life. The long front 

 claws vary considerably in size with the different species, being largest 

 in T. talpoides and T. rufescens, which are medium-sized species, and 

 relatively smallest in T. hulbivorus, the largest of the genus; but in 

 all they are well adapted to rapid digging. The stout hind feet, with 

 wholly naked, plantigrade soles and stout nails are well adapted 

 to pushing, while the delicate naked soles of all the feet are doubtless 

 of great advantage as a substitute for eyes in an animal which spends 

 most of its life in utter darkness. Fringes of stiff bristles bordering 

 the fingers and palms evidently assist in holding together the loose 

 earth as it is pushed out of the burrow. The very small eyes and 

 ears are keen at close range, but are of little use in the burrow where 

 most of the animal's life is spent. The stubby and seemingly rather 

 useless tail is slightly tapering, thinly haired, and often naked near 

 the tip. It probably serves as a substitute for eyes in the animal's 

 rapid backward progress through its burrow, as has been shown 



1 Pocket Gophers of the United States, by Vernon Bailey. Bui. No. 5, Division Ornithology and Mam- 

 malogy, 1895. 



Directions for Destroying Pocket Gophers, by David E. Lantz. Circular No. 52, Biological Suivey, 

 1908. 



Harmful and Beneficial Mammals of the Arid Interior, by Vernon Bailey. Farmers' Bulletin 335, 1908. 

 Pocket Gophers as Enemies of Trees, by David E. Lantz. Yearbook Separate No. 506, 1909. 



