86 The Mammals of Colorado 
County, where it is found down toward the southeast corner of the 
State. It does not apparently range above 6,000 feet elevation. 
Habits. — All the species of Pocket Gophers are so alike in 
their general habits that the following description will suffice 
for all. They are animals whose lives are spent underground 
in the burrows and tunnels which they are perpetually digging. 
The presence of the animals in any place is shown by the 
mounds of earth which are thrown up from the workings 
by the gopher. The holes are excavated by means of the 
powerful front feet, which are especially fitted for digging, 
with their long curved claws; they are also said to use the 
strong upper front teeth as a pick to loosen the earth in the 
front of the tunnel. When the earth has been loosened 
it is pushed toward the opening by the animal bringing its 
wrists together under the chin, with the palms held vertically, 
and then forcing itself along by its hind feet, and pushing the 
earth to the opening and out to the surface. The animals 
are either unable to push the whole load out at once or 
else they gather an accumulation close to the hole, for if 
one watches a gopher pushing the earth out of a burrow he 
will see a little pile of dirt come out, catch just a glimpse of 
the creature's head, perhaps, which immediately disappears, 
and very quickly another load is pushed out. After this per- 
formance has been repeated several times there is a consid- 
erable interval when nothing is done on the surface, and then 
it begins over again. It is very possible that a gopher can 
force more of a load along the tunnel in front of itself than 
it can push upward through a smaller opening, as these 
external ones usually are, and also frequently off to one side 
the main tunnel. The size of the workings varies of course with 
that of the species which make them. The earth which is 
thus thrown out forms mounds of varying size on the surface 
and by them the general course of the tunnels can be traced. 
Sometimes they are a considerable distance apart, and again 
