Specimen of the Month: Plains Pocket Gopher

 By guest contributor and Summer Naturalist Intern, Olivia Rataezyk

The plains pocket gopher is named for the two, large, fur-lined pockets, or pouches, in its mouth. These pouches are used for food transport and hold bits of the plants that pocket gophers eat. When not in use, their lips can be tucked back behind their front teeth, both putting them out of the way and keeping out dirt.

These small mammals are found throughout the Great Plains region and are the United States' most abundant gopher species. They are fossorial, meaning that they live their lives in underground burrows which provide protection from predators.

While pocket gophers are typically brown, the specimen on display is pure white! That is because it has a genetic variation called albinism, which causes an individual to not produce a dark pigment called melanin. This results in very light coloration.