Syzdekistan

Recently, we were in Zion National Park and stopped for ice cream at the main lodge in Zion canyon. We were lucky enough to see a Botta’s pocket gopher (Thonomys bottae) excavating it’s burrow in the field near the lodge.

These mammals are high specialized burrowers. They have huge incisors and their lips close behind their teeth so they don’t get dirt in their mouths while digging. Pocket gophers almost never leave their burrows and are rarely seen. They can move with ease backwards in their burrows using their tail as a sensory device. Pocket gophers have large, fur-lined cheek pouches that can be flipped inside out and eat roots and tubers. They can be extremely harmful to agricultural fields but in wilderness areas their burrowing greatly hastens soil formation.

Of course, there were other cute mammals in the field as well:

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