The soil is deposited in fan-shaped mounds 12 to 18 inches wide and 4 to 6 inches high.īurrow systems consist of a main tunnel, generally 4 to 18 inches below the soil surface, and a variable number of lateral burrows extending from the main. They do not use cheek pouches to carry soil. Pocket gophers construct burrow systems by loosening the soil with their claws and incisors, and then use their forefeet and chest to push the soil out of the burrow. Many trees and shrubs are clipped just above ground, especially under snow cover. They like above-ground vegetation when it is green and succulent. Pocket gophers feed on roots they encounter from digging, from vegetation they pull into the tunnel from above, and vegetation above ground near the tunnel. 1įigure 2: Distribution map of Northern ( Thomomys talpoides) and Yellow-faced ( Pappogeomys castanops) pocket gophers. Figure 1: Distribution map of Botta’s ( Thomomys bottae) and Plains ( Geomys bursarius) pocket gophers. The plains pocket gopher has two distinct grooves on the front surface of each upper incisor where as the yellowfaced pocket gopher has one distinct groove. The plains and yellow-faced pocket gopher species are often difficult to tell apart. The northern pocket gopher usually is dark-colored with a whitish chin and belly whereas the Botta’s pocket gopher is often reddish-brown with a blackish chin and reddish belly. The northern and Botta’s pocket gophers have smooth upper incisors with a single indistinct groove near the inner border and have smaller bodies and proportionately smaller front feet than the plains and yellow-faced pocket gophers. Shallow soils limit pocket gophers due to tunnel cave-ins and poor insulation from warm summer and cold winter temperatures.ĭistinguishing among the four pocket gopher species in Colorado is moderately easy. Pocket gophers attain the highest densities on light-textured soils with good herbage production. However, the yellow-faced pocket gopher is confined to drier sites. The yellow-faced pocket gopher ( Pappogeomys castanops) inhabits a portion of southeastern Colorado where the plains pocket gopher is found. Botta’s (formerly called valley) pocket gopher ( Thomomys bottae) is found primarily in welldeveloped soils of warm valleys in southern Colorado. It is the most common species in mountain rangelands and aspen forests. The northern pocket gopher ( Thomomys talpoides) occurs in upland areas of the eastern plains to shallow gravel in mountainous areas to thin soils of the alpine tundra. Plains pocket gophers ( Geomys bursarius) are abundant in sandy and silty soils of the plains but are not abundant in compacted soils. The four pocket gopher species found in Colorado are distributed almost entirely in different areas (Figure 1), possibly because of different ecological requirements or competition. Damage by pocket gophers can be reduced by exclusion, cultural methods and habitat modification, trapping, and toxicants applied by hand or with a burrow builder. ![]() Pocket gophers reduce productivity of portions of alfalfa fields and native grasslands by 20 to 50 percent.Four species of pocket gophers are found in Colorado.
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