Pocket Gophers: Are They the New Root Farmers?

In North and Central American grasslands, pocket gophers are well known for leading lonely, subterranean lifestyles while consuming roots.

Researchers have now discovered that pocket gophers "farm" roots that grow into their tunnels in order to meet the high energy requirements of their burrowing lifestyle.

They estimate that between 20% and 60% of the gophers' daily caloric needs are met by these roots.

Gophers as a "root farmer"

(Photo : Lukáš Vaňátko/Unsplash)

According to F E "Jack" Putz of the University of Florida, Gainesville, Southeastern pocket gophers are the first non-human mammalian farmers.

Ant, beetle, and termite species all do farming, whereas other animals do not, as per ScienceDaily.

According to Veronica Selden and Putz, pocket gophers don't merely consume roots that just so happen to develop along the courses of the brand-new tunnels they dig.

They instead create favorable circumstances for root development by using their own excrement as fertilizer.

The authors contend that because southeastern pocket gophers encourage root growth in their tunnels and subsequently harvest or crop those roots, they have discovered a farming-like method of food production.

According to Putz, it truly depends on how "farming" is defined. Gophers are not considered farmers if planting crops is necessary.

For somebody with a more horticultural viewpoint, however, in which crops are carefully managed, such as fruit trees in forests, but not necessarily planted, this description seems to be far too constrictive.

According to this viewpoint, maize cultivation in the Americas and the cultivation of annual cereal and pulse crops in Mesopotamia are among the origins of agriculture.

However, many cultures all over the world developed agriculture based on perennial crops, many of which they did not plant but tended.

Root cropping, according to Selden and Putz, may help to explain why gophers maintain and guard such vast tunnel networks. Comparable to rows of crops are the tunnels.

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Gophers are a pest?

Gophers spend the majority of their time creating huge burrow networks, which range in depth from four to 12 inches and have over 500 tunnels, as per Oregon State University.

The gopher mound has a distinctive form that resembles a fan that stretches laterally over the surface and has plugs or dents at either end.

On small acres, trapping is a reliable non-toxic pest management technique.

The u-shaped, spring-type Macabee trap is the most typical style of gopher trap. Explore the new mounds to find the main runway of the tunnel.

When the probe descends four to 12 inches into the surface, you know you have located the main runway.

It's crucial to find the main runway since gophers could take some time before returning to lateral tunnels.

Place two traps within the tunnel entrance that you dug. For relocation, attach a wire to each and anchor with a flag.

Keep the hole open because the gopher will come back if his burrow is disturbed. The gopher will set off the trap when he returns to close the hole.

The autumn and spring, when gophers are most active, is the greatest time to set traps. Regularly check traps and reset them as required. Move the trap to a new area if you don't catch a gopher in a few days.

Gophers can also be managed by using barn owls.