The Northern Pocket Gopher, Thomomys talpoides, was first discovered by Lewis and Clark on April 9, 1805 at the mouth of the Knife River

Knife River

This article is about the river in North Dakota. For other meanings, see Knife River The Knife River is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately 120 mi long, in North Dakota in the United States....

, North Dakota

North Dakota

North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....

. These animals are often rich brown or yellowish brown, but also grayish or closely approaching local soil color and have white markings under chin. They also weigh less than a quarter of a pound (110 grams).

Their habitat consists usually of good soil in meadows or along streams; most often in mountains, but also in lowlands.

A special note about the Northern Pocket Gopher is that it rarely appears above ground; when it does, it rarely ventures more than 2.5 feet from a burrow entrance. Underground, however, they often have tunnels that extend hundreds of feet where they live, store food and mate.http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/mammals/mammals/pocket.htm