Recorded Trail Ridge Road status: (970) 586-1222. The northern pocket gopher (Thomomys talpoides) lives in southern Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, and in south-central BC. Contact Us. Some members of the pocket gopher family have been shown to create tunnels exceeding 100 meters in length. Size: The average adult northern pocket gopher weighs 2.75-5 ounces (or 60-160 grams). Mailing Address: 1000 US Hwy 36 Estes Park, CO 80517 . One northern pocket gopher was witnessed stuffing its pouches so full of alfalfa that the pouches were dragging on the ground! It affects such diverse crops as alfalfa, pasture forage, Christmas tree plantations, row crops, shelter belts, and flower and vegetable gardens. A single northern pocket gopher’s burrow system can span an area up to 75 square metres. These creatures spend most of their time in underground burrows. Courtesy of NPS. Pocket Gopher (Geomyidae), family of medium-sized, solitary, nonhibernating, subterranean RODENTS. In areas of high population, unseen tunnels may cover huge areas of land. The pocket gopher, a commonyet seldom seen burrowing rodent, is found throughout Pocket gopher, (family Geomyidae), any of 38 species of predominantly North and Central American rodents named for their large, fur-lined cheek pouches. Estimates say pocket gophers are present in over About 31 species occur in N and Central America, 2 in Canada. Their total body length ranges from 6.5-9 inches (or 165-260 mm and their tail … The northern pocket gopher or Thomomys talpoides may be found in shrub-steppe, meadows, grasslands, pastures, farms and gardens in every county in eastern Washington.. Pocket gophers are named for the cheek pouches they use to store food. Patches of dark loose dirt often indicate the areas under which the pocket gopher has made its home. Contact the Park. The “pockets” open externally on each side of the mouth and extend from the face to the shoulders; they can be everted for cleaning. Habitat The Northern Pocket Gopher can be found living in many different habitats. Northern Pocket Gopher. The northern pocket gopher is one of the more damaging rodents found around the home and farm. Last updated: February 24, 2015. The northern pocket gopher (Thomomys talpoides) was first described in writing by Lewis and Clark, who encountered it on April 9, 1805 at the mouth of the Knife River in what is now North Dakota.These animals are often rich brown or yellowish brown, but also grayish or closely approaching local soil color and have white markings under the chin. Northern Pocket Gopher . It only avoids living in densely treed forests, waterlogged areas and shallow rocky soil. Gophers have small eyes and whiskers for navigating dark tunnels, small, rounded ears with a black patch behind, a short tail, sharp foreclaws, … Phone: (970) 586-1206 Through winter, the Information Office is open 8:00 am–4:30 pm Mon–Fri. This species is known to eat its feces, and …