Pocket gophers

Pocket gophers of this species are extremely adaptable as regards habitat. They occur in soils ranging from loose sands and silts to tight clays and in vegetative zones grading from dry deserts to montane meadows. Perhaps one reason why they can tolerate such environmental extremes is that they spend fully 90% of their lives in underground burrows, secure from the elements.
Their burrow systems are often complicated structures consisting of two or more main galleries and several side chambers. A partly excavated burrow extended more than 30 m in length, had four main "forks," and averaged 6 cm beneath the surface, although the tunnel leading to the nest descended to a depth of more than 60 cm. Tunnel systems more than 150 m in length are not rare. These ramified travelways probably help the occupants to avoid predators that try to search them out; they are equally important in permitting the gopher to forage over a considerable area without exposing itself unduly to danger. Special side branches serve as storehouses for food, others as repositories for refuse and fecal pellets. In winter, when snow covers the ground, the gophers often extend their burrows into the snow and can then forage aboveground in safety.
Although pocket gophers are active the year round, they store food to carry them over periods of scarcity, especially periods of drought when food is scarce and burrowing a difficult task. Usually, only one adult animal occupies each burrow system except for a short time in the breeding period. Associated with this solitary habit is a ferocious and seemingly fearless disposition. When two gophers encounter each other, they either fight or meticulously avoid each other. Desire for companionship seems to be completely lacking in their makeup.

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