The Botta's Pocket Gopher and CLHS
The Botta's Pocket Gopher is not seen often as its damage is found on campus. They love to dig holes on the football field
and surrounding areas and eat the grass the field provides.
Kingdom: Animalia
Common Name:
Botta's Pocket Gopher
Scientific Name: Thomomys bottae
Taxonomy:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: odentia
Family: Geomyidae
Genus: Thomomys
Species: bottae
Natural Range
They live in the bottom left of the U.S. in
8 states: Oregon, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and
California. Click here to
see a map.
Interesting Facts
This dark brown to grayish colored animal's
colors can vary with where it lives. Usually, if they live in darker, richer
soil, their color will be darker. They live in burrows alone and fight other
gophers if they encounter them in a tunnel. Some tunnels have been found
that are 200 ft long! They live most of their lives underground and only
come out at night if necessary. They
normally
have 5-7 babies at a time, and live about 2-3 years. These little animals
grow to be about 23 cm long.
Links
Find out more here:
The Botta's Pocket Gopher and CLHS
The Botta's Pocket Gopher is not seen often as its damage is found on campus. They love to dig holes on the football field
and surrounding areas and eat the grass the field provides.