Gophers are sometimes called pocket gophers because they have fur-lined pouches that have an opening from the outside of their cheeks. A gopher stuffs food inside these pouches to carry back to its underground tunnel. It empties its pouches by turning them inside out, and sometimes also cleans them, and then it heads back outside to collect another load. Squirrels and chipmunks also have cheek pouches for carrying food, but the gopher’s pockets are different in that they open on the outside of its body.
Gophers range in size quite a bit among the approximately 41 species. They can weigh anywhere between ½ pound to 2.2 pounds. They are around six to eight inches long, with a tail another one to two inches long. They use those little tails to feel their way around as they back into their tunnels. Their whiskers help them find their way in their dark homes, too.
These rodents are found over wide areas of North and Central America. They vary in color from reddish-brown to gray, but whatever color they are, it is often a close match with the soil in which they make their homes. Their most noticeable features are their sharp-pointed front claws and their large front teeth. Those big front teeth are used not only for gnawing food but are real power shovels, working with their claws when digging. The Lord has given them the amazing ability to close their lips behind their front teeth, so they can keep dirt out of their mouth as they dig using those big teeth. They have large heads with small eyes and ears. They are designed perfectly for a little animal that spends most of its life digging tunnels in the soil. What a wonderful provider the Lord God is for His creatures!
The burrow system, which is always being worked on, can cover an area up to 2,000 square feet or as small as 200 square feet. Feeding burrows are about six to twelve inches below the surface, but go as deep as six feet to where they keep their food and have their nests. Sloping tunnels go up from their burrows to the surface. There is a mound at the tunnel’s entrance that shows where it is, but the entrance is usually plugged with earthen plugs for the night.
The pocket gopher’s digging opens up hard ground, allowing rain to penetrate rather than run off. However, because they eat plants in the areas around their tunnels, they are not welcome guests to farmers and gardeners.
How the Lord made the gopher’s lips reminds me that we live in a world where there are a lot of things that the Lord doesn’t want us to let into our minds and hearts. May the Lord give us to obey this verse to “keep [your] heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life” (Proverbs 4:2323Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. (Proverbs 4:23)).
Did You Know?
Gophers use their tails to feel their way as they back into their tunnels.
Messages of God’s Love 12/10/2023