[Illustration: Habitat map] Habitat: Soft loam in the open places in the high mountains. Seldom found below 8,000 feet, but up to elevations of over 13,000 feet in New Mexico. Description: The characteristic mounds of earth built up by this group of burrowing rodents are usually the best indication of their presence. The northern pocket gopher is of medium size. Total length 6½ to 9½ inches. Tail 1¾ to 3 inches. It is usually gray in color with darker patches behind the rounded ears. Eyes and ears are small. The short tail has a bare, blunt tip. Front claws are long and curved. The entire body is well muscled and gives an impression of power. Average number of young thought to be about four. At the high elevations at which this species lives, the young are not seen until rather late in summer. [Illustration: northern pocket gopher] The northern pocket gopher is one of the hardiest rodents on the North American Continent. Even so, it would not be able to survive the climate of the inhospitable regions it sometimes inhabits were it not for the fact that is spends almost all its life underground. This creature does not hibernate, but continues busily at the task of searching out food when most other subterranean dwellers are curled up fast asleep in their cozy nests. Why the gopher should continue working, while its ground squirrel cousins sleep, is hard to say. It would seem that it has the same opportunities to lay on fat for a winter’s rest. The chief reason seems to be that the bulbs and roots upon which it feeds are always available so long as the gopher keeps extending its underground workings. On the other hand, the ground squirrels, which gather their food aboveground, are cut off from this supply as soon as cold weather drives them to shelter.