A Burrow of the Pocket Gopher (Geomys bursarius) in Eastern Kansas

Abstract

On the morning of November 29, 1947, one-fourth mile south and two miles west of Lawrence, Douglas Co., Kansas, I trapped a female pocket gopher (Geomys bursarius majusculus Swenk) and began excavating its burrow to ascertaini the nature of the winter quarters of this animal. The external measurements of the gopher were: total length, 260 mm; length of tail, 80 mm; length of hindfoot, 32 mm. Parts of five consecutive days were devoted to excavating the burrow. I am convinced that the female was the only pocket gopher living in the burrow for, whenever I left it, I set traps in such a manner as made it impossible for a pocket gopher to escape by means of the opened end of the burrow and always, upon returning, I checked the area for open holes to learn if a gopher had left or entered the burrow anywhere else. The traps never were sprung and I never discovered any accessory hole. The burrow was in black loam in a flat area which had no appreciable amount of drainage in any one direction. The conspicuous vegetation of the field consisted of composites and grasses as follows: Helianthus tuberosa, Ambrosia trifida, Solanum carolinense, Chenopodium basianum, Physalis pumila, Ambrosia elatior, Helianthus annus, Abutilon theophrasti, Tridens flavus, Setaria lutescens and Bromus inermis.