The Rodent Hunters present
The Gopher — Small Rodent, Great Consequences
What is a gopher?
The Gopher is a small burrowing rodent native to North and Central America. They spend most of their lifetime digging their burrows and living in them.
What does a gopher look like ?
Usually, gophers are around 6 to 8 inches in body length. They have sharp, predominant teeth which allow them to dig without having dirt coming in their mouth, along with 5 claws that help them bore through gardens and farmlands.
Gophers also have big pouches on each cheek, which they use to store food and necessities, which is why they’re called “pocket gophers”. Their fur is commonly brown to grey-ish, in order to match the color of the soil they live in.
Recognize gopher mounds
For gopher burrows, mounds are usually shaped as the letter C, whereas mole mounds look similar to volcanoes and surround the entrance hole.
Did you know? Moles don’t eat roots nor plants, but prefer a more carnivorous diet, mostly of maggots and worms. Their burrows are deeper than gophers’ : so moles tend to create ridges on the surface above when digging new tunnels.
Life cycle of a gopher
- Birth of a gopher
At birth, gophers are usually weak and blind and stick to their progenitor for around one month. Once that time has elapsed, newborn gophers are rejected from the burrow and have to survive on their own. - 40 days later : end of the weaning period
Once out of their “burrow of birth”, gophers have to dig their own tunnels which can take up to 2,000 square feet, which is around the size of a common suburban house. - 12 months later : sexual maturity
1 year after they are born, gophers reach their sexual maturity, which means they can now reproduce. But the amount of baby gophers one female gopher can have depends on they humidity of the soil the live in : in more arid areas, gophers may only have one litter, which is around 6 baby gophers. - End of life
Gophers have a rather short lifespan : they can live around 1 to 3 years, regardless of predators such as hawks, snakes and weasels or other fatal diseases they may come across throughout their lives. Some gopher species, however, can live up to 5 years
The Team
The Rodent Hunters Inc. is a company excelling at hunting small rodents such as gophers.
Founding Members :
- Tom Delfosse — The Cowboy
- Camille Mouvet — The Exterminator
- Marie Manuela Potemberg — The Gopher Saviour
- Sylvian Bergiers — THe Long-Range Shooter
- Guillaume Pihard — The Gopher Gourmet
For more info, please find our website through the following link https://RodentHunters.org
