A small rodent belonging to the squirrel family. One of the largest representatives of this species is the gopher of the steppe. You can find a photo and description of this animal in many publications about animals, but today we want to tell you about it.
Appearance
Adult gopher has a body length of 25 to 37 cm. This animal weighs up to 1.5 kg. Approximately 35% of the total body length is the tail. You can see the photo of the steppe gopher in our article.
The hind legs of these animals are slightly longer than the front. The main difference between gophers from other rodents is the shape of their ears: they are short and slightly lowered down. Gophers have cheekbags behind their cheeks.
The coat is short and thick. The color is light yellow with a splash of dark hair. On the sides and stomach, the fur is lighter. There are two stripes on the tail - light yellow on the outside, dark yellow on the inside.
Lifestyle
This cute animal lives in semi-deserts in the west of Kazakhstan, in the steppe zone of the Lower Volga region. In Central Asia, prefers to settle in clay semi-deserts.
Gopher steppe - an animal that prefers a solitary lifestyle. Under favorable conditions, the rodent population density reaches 8 individuals per hectare. Animal colonies are several tens, and sometimes hundreds of kilometers apart. Each adult has its own feeding area, which it carefully protects.
In Russia, the following species of ground squirrels are most common: large and small, as well as speckled. Fine-gopher ground squirrel is also secreted.
In natural conditions, the gopher steppe lives 3-4 years. Puberty occurs in the second year of life.
Life cycle
The gopher steppe is in hibernation 9 months a year. In this sense, he is the champion among all hibernating animals. This period ends at the end of February. Males wake up first, only females after them, and only then young individuals. Immediately after awakening, the mating season begins. It lasts about two weeks.
Females hatched for 30 days, small gophers are born in April-May. One brood can count from 4 to 14 cubs. The female feeds the offspring a little more than a month, then the cubs leave the mother and begin an independent life.
Young individuals begin to dig a hole for themselves on a free barrow, the land there is much softer than on the virgin soil. First, an oblique passage is excavated, which is then clogged with earth from the inside. A vertical passage, which does not reach the surface of the earth a little, is constructed by the animal closer to the onset of hibernation.
The soil that the gopher of the steppe zone throws from the lower layers to the surface is very important for soil formation. Many experts are sure that thanks to the steppe rodents and ground squirrels, including, the southern regions of Russia are rich in black soil, the most fertile in the world.
With the onset of heat, when the bulk of the vegetation dries up, most ground squirrels pass from the hills to the lowlands, because there the grass cover remains fresh longer. However, this does not happen in all regions. For example, in Central Asia, in hot weather, ground squirrels fall into hibernation.
The enemies of these rodents are various predators, including foxes, wolves, steppe eagles, ferrets.
Gopher Steppe: food
This rodent does not have a very diverse diet. He prefers plant foods. As a rule, these are bulbs and stems of plants, seeds and tubers of cereal crops, of which there are more than 30 species. Before hibernation, the gopher of the steppe spends almost all day in search of food. This is necessary in order to accumulate the necessary supply of fat.
Home
The animal lives in holes, which he constructs several types. There are permanent, “rescue”, temporary shelters. In permanent burrows, animals live in winter, in temporary burrows - in summer, and the purpose of "rescue" is clear from their name.
The first two types of holes have two strokes and a nesting chamber. Their depth can reach 3 meters in depth, and the length is 7 meters. "Rescue" holes are much smaller in size. This is a long underground passage, at an angle. In addition, sometimes the gopher can settle in the burrows of a large gerbil.
The gopher of the steppe is an extremely cautious and secretive animal. When danger approaches, he instantly hides in one of the nearest holes. If he has moved far from his shelters, he lies on the ground and freezes. Thanks to the color of the fur, it remains almost invisible on the ground. If this technique did not work, and the danger still persists, he emits a piercing loud whistle that can disorient the enemy for some time.
Speckled ground squirrel can be considered a typical representative of the genus Gophers. This is one of the smallest animals in the family, its length does not exceed 26 centimeters.
Speckled ground squirrel steppe: a brief description
He has a chiseled large head, a very mobile neck. The eyes are large, round. The paws are short, and the forelegs have movable long fingers. The peculiarity of the speckled gopher (however, as well as the animals described above) is that it has cheek pouches. They, of course, are not as large and roomy as a hamster. But at one time the gopher carries in its bags up to several dozen plant bulbs.
Body color is bright and colorful. Large brown spots are scattered on the brown back, this is mottling, from which the name of the species came from. The spots merge on the head and neck, forming a whitish ripple. "Glasses" around the eyes stand out clearly against the background of the cheeks. The tail is decorated with a light border along the very edge. The speckled ground squirrel, unlike many of its relatives, is active in the daytime. He settles in the meadows and in the steppes.
The speckled ground squirrel spends most of its life in an individual burrow. The animal is extremely energetic, but fearful. Moving in open areas, it becomes a "column" on the hind legs and looks around. Frightened gopher with a loud whistle warns neighbors about the danger.
Content
Catching a gopher is not difficult, but accustoming it to life in captivity is much more difficult. One can hardly hope that this rodent will turn into a complaisant and responsive pet. Gophers do not get used to people. In addition, their lifestyle is not too suitable for home maintenance. They are active early in the morning, and hide in the mink during the day. In addition, it must be borne in mind that these animals have a not very pleasant smell.
Quite often, the content of gophers in the cell shortens the life of the animals, and sometimes leads to their death. Gophers do not breed in the cage. But if you really want to get this funny animal, then it should be kept in a spacious enclosure in the fresh air. The only species that may be suitable for home use is the thin-toed gopher. He is distinguished by his funny habits, which are very reminiscent of a squirrel.
There must be a shelter inside the enclosure so that your pet can safely hibernate. Cover the floor with hay or straw, which must be changed regularly. Must gopher needs a drinker.
