Though we haven’t we seen the Botta’s Pocket Gopher before, why now? It could be due to the massive rains San Diego has been having this winter, increasing food supplies and thus activity for a variety of wildlife. This particular species is also difficult to capture in pitfall traps because it spends a lot of its life underground.
Botta’s Pocket Gophers feed strictly on plants, including shoots and grasses, and even bulbs, roots and tubers. Though viewed as a pest in many households, pocket gophers are beneficial to the environment because they can aerate soils up to a depth of almost a foot. They can be found in a variety of soils, including very had packed clays – unlike many other types of gophers, these particular gophers can dig with their teeth, which don’t wear down as quickly as claws can.