What are large gophers called? Questions of the environmental action "ecological dictation". Breeding period of gophers

Appearance This is a large gopher, second in size only to the yellow one. The length of its body is 24-33 cm, tail 6-10 cm; weight before hibernation reaches 1.4 kg. The dark, ocher-brown color of the back is noticeably different from the reddish sides. The back shows whitish streaking or ripples formed by the white ends of the guard hairs. The top of the head is silver-gray. There are distinct red or brown spots above the eyes and on the cheeks. The abdomen is grayish-yellow. In young ground squirrels, the ripples on the back are less pronounced. Molting, like that of most ground squirrels, in the large ground squirrel is extended over a considerable period. Winter fur begins to shed 3-4 weeks after emerging from hibernation, and many individuals begin to grow winter fur in July. The general color tone fades and becomes paler towards the southeast, but its intensity strongly depends on the humidity of the habitat. Spreading The large ground squirrel is common in the lowland and foothill steppes of Russia and Northern Kazakhstan. In the west, its range begins at the Volga. Its northern border comes from the Volga-Vyatka interfluve (56°40’ N) and the Kama, along the right bank of the river. Agidel, left bank of the river. Bolshoi Ik and the right bank of the river. Sakmara, skirting the Ural ridge along the foothills. In the east, the great ground squirrel is found between the Tobol and Ishim rivers; the easternmost point of its distribution is Omsk. The southern border goes approximately from the city of Volsk through the interfluve river. Bolshoy and Maly Uzen up to the river. Uil and Emba (48° N), then goes around the Mugodzhary Mountains from the north and reaches Ishim with the eastern edge of the Turgai Plateau. Lifestyle and nutrition The great gopher is an inhabitant of lowland (no higher than 400-600 m above sea level) forb, grass-forb, feather grass and wormwood-fescue steppes. Due to its choice of habitats, it is called the “meadow gopher.” In the north, along steppe areas it reaches the forest-steppe and southern parts of the forest zone; in the south it penetrates through river valleys into semi-deserts. It goes further north than other European ground squirrels. The large gopher settles on light soils: chernozem, chestnut soils, sandy loam, silty loam. It inhabits pastures, long-term fallow lands, roadsides and embankments, edges of fields and household plots; less often - turfed sands, forest edges. In the forest-steppe it lives in biotopes not typical of other gophers - among tall grass and bushes. Here the large ground squirrel has even lost its habit of standing up in a column to inspect the surroundings - the tall grass still interferes with the view. The great ground squirrel is characterized by sparse settlements; Only in the south of its range, where there are few suitable areas for habitation, does it settle in dense colonies. In its area, each gopher has 8-10 burrows of two types - permanent (residential) and temporary. Residential burrows are from 40 to 130 cm deep and from 3-9 (in the north) to 15-20 (in the south of the range) m long. There is no earthen mound in front of the exits from the burrows ( butane, gopher meat); The gopher apparently scatters the excavated soil evenly throughout the territory. The great gopher differs from other types of gophers by its greater mobility. In search of food, it can move 100-200 m away from its burrows, and when the vegetation dries out, it can move to more feeding areas at distances of 300 m and further. These gophers are good swimmers and can even cross such wide rivers as the Ural in the middle reaches. Ground squirrels are active most of the day, sometimes without a break at noon. Nutrition The diet of the large ground squirrel is dominated by cereals and flowering herbs. The admixture of animal feed is small. In spring, gophers feed on the root parts of plants and bulbs, then move on to flowers and leaves. Cultivated cereals (oats, rye, wheat, millet) are eaten by them mainly in the stage of milky and waxy ripeness. They don't make stocks. Life cycle Hibernation in the great gopher lasts 6.5-8.5 months. Gophers wake up at the end of March - the first half of April, when there is still snow in some places. The first to emerge from hibernation, as usual among ground squirrels, are the males, then, with a slight gap, the females. 2-4 days after the females awaken, the mating season begins in gophers. Females do not build special brood burrows, but they rebuild and complicate their residential burrows. In the brood hole there are several nesting chambers (up to 3), located at a depth of 0.6-1.8 m. After 23-30 days of pregnancy, 3-16 cubs are born; The great gopher is one of the most prolific species of gopher. At the age of a week, the sows begin to become covered with hair, after 2 weeks the hair becomes full, their eyes open, and at about the age of a month, the young animals settle down and begin an independent life. They reach sexual maturity after the 2nd wintering. Natural hybrids of the great ground squirrel with all species of the genus are known Spermophilus, whose habitats are in contact with its habitat: with yellow, red-cheeked, small and speckled ground squirrels. In most of the range (except for Kazakhstan), summer hibernation is not observed. However, in dry years, old males and dry females, which have accumulated enough fat, go into hibernation in mid-June. By the end of July - August, young animals also hibernate. In other years, mass hibernation occurs in August. The main factors of mortality of the great ground squirrel, as in other species, are winter freezing of the soil, a prolonged spring, human influence, as well as predators and epizootics. The most dangerous for gophers is the steppe ferret, which destroys animals not only in spring and summer, but also during hibernation. They are also hunted by foxes and corsacs; young animals are hunted by ermine and weasel, and near populated areas by domestic dogs and cats. Of the birds of prey, the main enemies of gophers are eagles - steppe, imperial eagle, long-legged buzzard and black kite, and in the north of the range, in addition, the common buzzard, great spotted eagle and long-eared owl. The ground squirrel rarely survives 3 years of age. Conservation status Due to the high number and intensity of reproduction, the great ground squirrel is not an endangered species. However, in most of its range its numbers are declining due to anthropogenic impact: reduction of natural habitats due to plowing of virgin and fallow lands, and direct extermination. In Kazakhstan, the great gopher is one of the pests of agricultural crops (grain crops). With its digging activity it can cause soil salinization. Natural carriage of plague and tularemia pathogens has been registered. Write a review about the article "The Great Gopher" Notes Links An excerpt characterizing the Great Gopher – Do you mean “downstairs”? – Having understood what she was talking about, I immediately asked. Stella nodded. – What did you lose there? “Oh, I didn’t lose it, I found it!” the little girl exclaimed victoriously. – Do you remember how I told you that there were good beings there, but you didn’t believe me then? Frankly speaking, I didn’t really believe it even now, but, not wanting to offend my happy friend, I nodded in agreement. “Well, now you’ll believe it!” Stella said contentedly. - Went? This time, apparently having already gained some experience, we easily “slipped” down the “floors”, and I again saw a depressing picture, very similar to those seen before... Some kind of black, stinking slurry was slurping underfoot, and streams of muddy, reddish water flowed from it... The scarlet sky darkened, blazing with bloody reflections of the glow, and, still hanging very low, drove somewhere a crimson mass of heavy clouds. .. And those, not giving in, hung heavy, swollen, pregnant, threatening to give birth to a terrible, sweeping waterfall... From time to time, a wall of brown-red, opaque water burst out of them with a resounding roar, hitting the ground so hard that it seemed - the sky is collapsing... The trees stood bare and featureless, lazily moving their drooping, thorny branches. Further behind them stretched the joyless, burnt-out steppe, getting lost in the distance behind a wall of dirty, gray fog... Many gloomy, drooping human beings restlessly wandered back and forth, senselessly looking for something, not paying any attention to the world around them, which, and however, it did not evoke the slightest pleasure so that one would want to look at it... The whole landscape evoked horror and melancholy, seasoned with hopelessness... “Oh, how scary it is here...” Stella whispered, shuddering. – No matter how many times I come here, I just can’t get used to it... How do these poor things live here?! – Well, probably these “poor things” were too guilty once if they ended up here. No one sent them here - they just got what they deserved, right? – still not giving up, I said. “But now you’ll look...” Stella whispered mysteriously. A cave overgrown with grayish greenery suddenly appeared in front of us. And out of it, squinting, came a tall, stately man who in no way fit into this wretched, soul-chilling landscape... - Hello, Sad! – Stella greeted the stranger affectionately. - I brought my friend! She doesn't believe that good people can be found here. And I wanted to show you to her... You don’t mind, do you? “Hello, dear...” the man answered sadly, “But I’m not that good to show off to anyone.” You're wrong... Oddly enough, I actually immediately liked this sad man for some reason. He exuded strength and warmth, and it was very pleasant to be around him. In any case, he was in no way like those weak-willed, grief-stricken people who surrendered to the mercy of fate, with whom this “floor” was chock-full. “Tell us your story, sad man...” Stella asked with a bright smile. “There’s nothing to tell, and there’s nothing particularly to be proud of...” the stranger shook his head. - And what do you need this for? For some reason, I felt very sorry for him... Without knowing anything about him, I was already almost sure that this man could not have done anything truly bad. Well, I just couldn’t!.. Stela, smiling, followed my thoughts, which she apparently really liked... “Well, okay, I agree - you’re right!..” Seeing her happy face, I finally honestly admitted. “But you don’t know anything about him yet, but with him everything is not so simple,” Stella said, smiling slyly and contentedly. - Well, please tell her, Sad... The man smiled sadly at us and said quietly: – I’m here because I killed... I killed many. But it was not out of desire, but out of need... I was immediately terribly upset - he killed!.. And I, stupid, believed it!.. But for some reason I stubbornly did not have the slightest feeling of rejection or hostility. I clearly liked the person, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t do anything about it... - Is it really the same guilt - to kill at will or out of necessity? – I asked. – Sometimes people have no choice, do they? For example: when they have to defend themselves or protect others. I have always admired heroes - warriors, knights. I generally always adored the latter... Is it possible to compare simple murderers with them? He looked at me for a long time and sadly, and then also quietly answered: - I don’t know, dear... The fact that I am here says that the guilt is the same... But the way I feel this guilt in my heart, then no... I never wanted to kill, I just defended my land, I was a hero there... But here it turned out that I was just killing... Is this right? I think no... - So you were a warrior? – I asked hopefully. - But then, this is a big difference - you defended your home, your family, your children! And you don’t look like a murderer!.. - Well, we are all not like the way others see us... Because they see only what they want to see... or only what we want to show them... And about the war - I also first just as you thought, you were even proud... But here it turned out that there was nothing to be proud of. Murder is murder, and it doesn’t matter how it was committed. “But this is not right!..” I was indignant. - What happens then - a maniac-killer turns out to be the same as a hero?!.. This simply cannot be, this should not happen! Everything inside me was raging with indignation! And the man sadly looked at me with his sad, gray eyes, in which understanding was read... “A hero and a murderer take lives in the same way.” Only, probably, there are “extenuating circumstances,” since a person protecting someone, even if he takes a life, does so for a bright and righteous reason. But, one way or another, they both have to pay for it... And it’s very bitter to pay, believe me... – Can I ask you how long ago you lived? – I asked, a little embarrassed. - Oh, quite a long time ago... This is the second time I’m here... For some reason, my two lives were similar - in both of them I fought for someone... Well, and then I paid... And it’s always just as bitter ... – the stranger fell silent for a long time, as if not wanting to talk about it anymore, but then he quietly continued. – There are people who love to fight. I always hated it. But for some reason, life is returning me to the same circle for the second time, as if I was locked in this, not allowing me to free myself... When I lived, all our peoples fought among themselves... Some seized foreign lands - others they defended the lands. Sons overthrew fathers, brothers killed brothers... Anything happened. Someone accomplished unimaginable feats, someone betrayed someone, and someone turned out to be simply a coward. But none of them even suspected how bitter the payment would be for everything they had done in that life...

Type: Chordata Class: Mammals Squad: Rodents Family: Squirrel Genus: Gophers View: Great gopher Latin name Spermophilus major
(Pallas, )

		ITIS NCBI

Security status Least Concern IUCN 3.1 Least Concern:

Appearance

This is a large gopher, second in size only to the yellow one. The length of its body is 24-33 cm, tail 6-10 cm; weight before hibernation reaches 1.4 kg. The dark, ocher-brown color of the back is noticeably different from the reddish sides. The back shows whitish streaking or ripples formed by the white ends of the guard hairs. The top of the head is silver-gray. There are distinct red or brown spots above the eyes and on the cheeks. The abdomen is grayish-yellow. In young ground squirrels, the ripples on the back are less pronounced. Molting, like that of most ground squirrels, in the large ground squirrel is extended over a considerable period. Winter fur begins to shed 3-4 weeks after emerging from hibernation, and many individuals begin to grow winter fur in July. The general color tone fades and becomes paler towards the southeast, but its intensity strongly depends on the humidity of the habitat.

Spreading

The large ground squirrel is common in the lowland and foothill steppes of Russia and Northern Kazakhstan. In the west, its range begins at the Volga. Its northern border comes from the Volga-Vyatka interfluve (56°40’ N) and the Kama, along the right bank of the river. Agidel, left bank of the river. Bolshoi Ik and the right bank of the river. Sakmara, skirting the Ural ridge along the foothills. In the east, the great ground squirrel is found between the Tobol and Ishim rivers; the easternmost point of its distribution is Omsk. The southern border goes approximately from the city of Volsk through the interfluve river. Bolshoy and Maly Uzen up to the river. Uil and Emba (48° N), then goes around the Mugodzhary Mountains from the north and reaches Ishim with the eastern edge of the Turgai Plateau.

Lifestyle and nutrition

The great gopher is an inhabitant of lowland (no higher than 400-600 m above sea level) forb, grass-forb, feather grass and wormwood-fescue steppes. Due to its choice of habitats, it is called the “meadow gopher.” In the north, along steppe areas it reaches the forest-steppe and southern parts of the forest zone; in the south it penetrates through river valleys into semi-deserts. It goes further north than other European ground squirrels. The large gopher settles on light soils: chernozem, chestnut soils, sandy loam, silty loam. It inhabits pastures, long-term fallow lands, roadsides and embankments, edges of fields and household plots; less often - turfed sands, forest edges. In the forest-steppe it lives in biotopes not typical of other gophers - among tall grass and bushes. Here the large ground squirrel has even lost its habit of standing up in a column to inspect the surroundings - the tall grass still interferes with the view.

The great ground squirrel is characterized by sparse settlements; Only in the south of its range, where there are few suitable areas for habitation, does it settle in dense colonies. In its area, each gopher has 8-10 burrows of two types - permanent (residential) and temporary. Residential burrows are from 40 to 130 cm deep and from 3-9 (in the north) to 15-20 (in the south of the range) m long. There is no earthen mound in front of the exits from the burrows ( butane, gopher meat); The gopher apparently scatters the excavated soil evenly throughout the territory.

The great gopher differs from other types of gophers by its greater mobility. In search of food, it can move 100-200 m away from its burrows, and when the vegetation dries out, it can move to more feeding areas at distances of 300 m and further. These gophers are good swimmers and can even cross such wide rivers as the Ural in the middle reaches. Ground squirrels are active most of the day, sometimes without a break at noon.

Nutrition

The diet of the large ground squirrel is dominated by cereals and flowering herbs. The admixture of animal feed is small. In spring, gophers feed on the root parts of plants and bulbs, then move on to flowers and leaves. Cultivated cereals (oats, rye, wheat, millet) are eaten by them mainly in the stage of milky and waxy ripeness. They don't make stocks.

Life cycle

Hibernation in the great gopher lasts 6.5-8.5 months. Gophers wake up at the end of March - the first half of April, when there is still snow in some places. The first to emerge from hibernation, as usual among ground squirrels, are the males, then, with a slight gap, the females. 2-4 days after the females awaken, the mating season begins in gophers. Females do not build special brood burrows, but they rebuild and complicate their residential burrows. In the brood hole there are several nesting chambers (up to 3), located at a depth of 0.6-1.8 m. After 23-30 days of pregnancy, 3-16 cubs are born; The great gopher is one of the most prolific species of gopher. At the age of a week, the sows begin to become covered with hair, after 2 weeks the hair becomes full, their eyes open, and at about the age of a month, the young animals settle down and begin an independent life. They reach sexual maturity after the 2nd wintering.

Natural hybrids of the great ground squirrel with all species of the genus are known Spermophilus, whose habitats are in contact with its habitat: with

A small rodent belonging to the Squirrel family. One of the largest representatives of this species is the steppe ground squirrel. You can find photos and descriptions of this animal in many publications about animals, but today we want to talk about it.

Appearance

An 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 a photo of the steppe gopher in our article.

The hind legs of these animals are slightly longer than the front legs. The main difference between gophers and other rodents is the shape of their ears: they are short and slightly drooping. Gophers have so-called cheek pouches behind their cheeks.

The coat is short and thick. The color is light yellow interspersed with dark hair. The fur on the sides and belly is lighter. The tail has two stripes - 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, it prefers to settle in clayey semi-deserts.

The steppe gopher is an animal that prefers a solitary lifestyle. Under favorable conditions, the density of rodents reaches 8 individuals per hectare. Colonies of animals are located several tens, and sometimes hundreds of kilometers from each other. Each adult has its own feeding area, which it carefully protects.

In Russia, the most common types of ground squirrels are: large and small, as well as speckled. The thin-toed ground squirrel is also isolated.

Under natural conditions, the steppe ground squirrel lives 3-4 years. Sexual maturity occurs in the second year of life.

Life cycle

The steppe ground squirrel hibernates 9 months a year. In this sense, he is the record holder among all hibernating animals. This period ends at the end of February. The males wake up first, only after them the females, and only then the young individuals. Immediately after waking up, mating season begins. It lasts approximately two weeks.

Females carry their cubs for 30 days, small gophers are born in April-May. One brood can consist of from 4 to 14 cubs. The female feeds the offspring for 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 mound; the soil there is much softer than on virgin soil. First, an inclined passage is dug, which is then clogged with earth from the inside. The vertical passage, which slightly does not reach the surface of the earth, is constructed by the animal closer to the onset of hibernation.

The soil that the steppe zone gopher throws from the lower layers to the surface is very important for soil formation. Many experts are confident that thanks to steppe rodents and ground squirrels, among others, the southern regions of Russia are rich in black soil, the most fertile in the world.

With the onset of heat, when the main part of the vegetation dries out, most gophers move from highlands to lowlands, since the grass cover remains fresh there longer. However, this does not happen in all regions. For example, in Central Asia, in hot weather, gophers go into summer hibernation.

The enemies of these rodents are various predators, including foxes, wolves, steppe eagles, and ferrets.

Steppe ground squirrel: nutrition

This rodent does not have a very varied 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 steppe ground squirrel spends almost the entire day searching for food. This is necessary in order to accumulate the necessary fat reserves.

Housing

The animal lives in burrows, which it constructs of several types. There are permanent, “rescue”, temporary shelters. The animals live in permanent burrows in winter, in temporary burrows in summer, and the purpose of “rescue” burrows is clear from their name.

The first two types of burrows have two passages and a nesting chamber. Their depth can reach 3 meters in depth, and their length can be 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 steppe gopher 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 down on the ground and freezes. Thanks to the color of its fur, it remains almost invisible on the ground. If this technique does not work, and the danger still exists, it emits a high-pitched, loud whistle, which can disorient the enemy for some time.

A typical representative of the Gopher genus can be considered. This is one of the smallest animals in the family, its length does not exceed 26 centimeters.

Speckled steppe ground squirrel: brief description

He has a chiseled large head and a very mobile neck. The eyes are large and round. The paws are short, and the front ones have movable long toes. The peculiarity of the speckled gopher (as well as the animals described above) is that it has cheek pouches. They, of course, are not as large and roomy as those of a hamster. But at one time the gopher carries up to several dozen plant bulbs in its bags.

The body color is bright and variegated. Large spots of white are scattered on the brown back; this is the mottling from which the name of the species comes. The spots merge on the head and neck, forming whitish ripples. The “glasses” around the eyes stand out brightly 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 during the daytime. He settles in meadows and steppes.

The speckled ground squirrel spends most of its life in an individual burrow. The animal is extremely energetic, but shy. Moving across open areas, he stands up on his hind legs and looks around. A frightened gopher warns neighbors of danger with a loud whistle.

It is not difficult to catch a gopher, but it is much more difficult to accustom it to life in captivity. One can hardly hope that this rodent will turn into an easy-going and responsive pet. Gophers are not accustomed to people. In addition, their lifestyle is not very suitable for keeping at home. Early in the morning they are active, and during the day they hide in a hole. In addition, it is necessary to take into account that these animals do not have a very pleasant smell.

Quite often, keeping gophers in a cage shortens the life of the animals, and sometimes leads to their death. Gophers do not reproduce in a cage. But if you really want to have this funny animal, then you should keep it in a spacious enclosure in the fresh air. The only species that may be suitable for keeping at home is the thin-toed ground squirrel. It is distinguished by its 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 of the cage with hay or straw, which must be changed regularly. The gopher definitely needs a drinking bowl.

Surprisingly, the steppe ground squirrel is well adapted to heat. Scientists report interesting facts.

• These rodents are not afraid of changes in body temperature of up to ten degrees. For comparison, it should be remembered that a person feels unwell when body temperature changes by half a degree. The habit of sitting upright helps these animals avoid heatstroke: their head is away from the hot soil. But they don’t stay in the heat for long. The coolness of the holes and rare shade help out.
• The gopher, an inhabitant of the steppes, eats more than 16 kilograms of grass and grain over the summer.
• The small gopher is the most harmful rodent. It spoils pastures and destroys valuable forage plants. In areas of intensive agriculture, these rodents are exterminated.
• Fighting them saves the harvest and produces a large number of skins. It must be said that gophers can be carriers of dangerous diseases (plague, brucellosis, etc.).

Species: Citellus major Pallas, 1778 = Rufous (large) ground squirrel

Large or reddish ground squirrel - Citellus major Pallas, 1778

Due to its ecological plasticity and high reproductive intensity, the great ground squirrel is not a species with an important conservation status. However, in most of the range there is a decrease in the number or disappearance of individual populations. The main reason for this process is the reduction in the area of ​​permanent habitats of gophers due to the plowing of virgin and fallow lands, however, the anthropogenic factor (direct extermination) also plays a significant role.

Large ground squirrel: body length up to 34 cm, tail length up to 11 cm, weight up to 1400 g. The general color of the back is from ocher-brown to gray-yellowish-ochre, with whitish streaking or ripples formed by the white ends of the guard hairs. The top of the head is silver-gray. There is a red stripe above the eyes, and below them there is a pronounced cheek patch of the same color. The sides and limbs are reddish, the ventral side is gray-whitish-yellow. Tail with light edge. The overall color tone fades and becomes paler towards the southeast, but the humidity of the biotopes apparently has a significant influence on the color intensity. It differs from the closely related red-cheeked ground squirrel in its coloring, large size, and relatively long tail.

Spreading:

The plain and foothill steppes of Russia and Kazakhstan, along steppe areas, enter the forest-steppe and southern part of the forest zone, and along the meadow areas of river valleys into the semi-desert. To the north it penetrates farthest of all European ground squirrel species.

Northern forb, grass-forb, feather grass and wormwood-fescue steppes; along river valleys there are meadows that are not flooded with flood waters; long-term deposits; forest edges. It settles on pastures, on the territory of non-residential settlements, roadsides and embankments, dry lands and along the edges of ravines, on various household lands and crops. It does not rise into the mountains above 400-600 m above sea level. Prefers light soils: chernozem, meadow-chernozem, dark chestnut, sandy loam and light loamy. It typically gravitates towards mesophilic, slightly turfed, moist and sandy biotopes with grass and forb vegetation, which is why in many places it is called the “meadow” gopher. Often the choice of habitat depends more on edaphic conditions than on the nature of vegetation, so the great ground squirrel is often found in areas of steppes rich in xerophytic plant elements - fescue and wormwood.

The large gopher forms sparse settlements, the structure of which is formed by mosaically scattered groups of animals. Coloniality is well expressed only in the south of the range, where areas suitable for habitation are small and clearly isolated in the landscape. The density of settlements in the south of the range can reach up to 110 burrows and 12-18 individuals per 1 hectare. However, in the northern and central parts of the range it rarely exceeds 30 burrows and 4-6 individuals/ha.

The number is subject to sharp fluctuations and can change by several orders of magnitude. Periods of mass reproduction are followed by depression in numbers, when single animals are found in settlements. The main factors of mortality are soil freezing during the hibernation period, late, long spring, human influence (including direct persecution), as well as pressure from predators and epizootics. Of the enemies, the most dangerous is the steppe polecat Mustela eversmanni, which destroys animals not only during their active life, but also during hibernation. A large number of ground squirrels are killed by foxes Vulpes vulpes and corsacs V. corsac. Young animals are hunted by the ermine Mustela erminea and the weasel M. nivalis, and near populated areas by domestic dogs and cats. Of the birds of prey, the main enemies are eagles - the steppe Aquila nipalensis and the imperial eagle Aq. heliaca, Buzzard Buteo rufinus and Black Kite Milvus migrans; in the north of the range, in addition, the common buzzard B. buteo, the greater spotted eagle Aq. clanga, and the long-eared owl Asio otus.

A large gopher in its area usually has from 8 to 10 separate burrows of two types - permanent and temporary. The first of them are more often located on elevated meso- and microrelief; Most of them have one entrance hole, so a characteristic feature of the settlements of the great gopher is the absence of gophers. The depth of the nesting chambers is 0.7-1.3 m; the total length of all passages is 1.8-9.0 m, the diameter of the entrance hole is 7-12 cm. Temporary burrows are less deep (0.3-0.8 m) and extended (0.8-1.4 m) and are simpler in structure; They break out both near permanent burrows and in feeding and temporary habitats remote from them. Females do not specifically build brood burrows; during pregnancy, they rebuild and complicate their wintering burrows.

The age structure is characterized by a significant predominance of one-year-old and two-year-old animals; in different years, the share of these two age groups in populations ranges from 74 to 95%.

Hibernation lasts 6.5-8.5 months. The awakening begins at the end of March - the first half of April, when in some places there is still snow. The timing of awakening depends on spring conditions and can last 20-25 days. Males are the first to emerge from hibernation, but there is no noticeable difference in the timing of awakening of females and males. True summer hibernation, which passes without interruption into winter, is noted in Kazakhstan, however, in other parts of the range, in dry years, old males and barren females go into hibernation in mid-June.

The usual two-phase daily activity for gophers is most pronounced in adult and old animals in the hot months of summer and in the south of their range. The young are active most of the day, usually without a break at midday. They show the greatest activity and mobility during the period of resettlement. In the northern and eastern parts of its range, the great ground squirrel exhibits a single-phase pattern of daily activity.

The great gopher differs from other types of gophers in being more mobile. The animals can move away from permanent burrows by 100-200 m, and when the vegetation dries out, they can move to more feeding places at distances of up to 300 m. They swim well and, if there is a lack of food, they can swim across rivers en masse, even as wide as the Ural in the middle reaches. The settlement of young ground squirrels occurs in 2 stages: first, within the boundaries of the mother’s individual territory, then the settlement space, free from other individuals, is developed. When settling, males move further from the brood burrow than females.

The composition of plant feeds ranges from 32 to 52 species with a predominance of cereals and flowering herbs. Animal feed does not seem to be of much importance. After waking up from hibernation, gophers feed on the root parts of plants and bulbs, then move on to flowers and leaves; cultivated cereals (rye, wheat, millet) are eaten preferably at the stage of milky and waxy ripeness.

The size of individual home ranges of large ground squirrels depends on the food supply of the biotopes and the density of settlements, and in general does not fall outside the range of 0.22 – 0.85 ha. Individual areas sometimes overlap (up to 30% of the area). In areas of overlap, aggressive territorial contacts are observed. In most cases, they develop according to the “dominance-submission” scheme, much less often they end with the active avoidance of one of the individuals from direct contact.

The Great Ground Squirrel has a polygynous breeding system. It is based on territorial groups of animals, the core of which is formed by aggregations of females, and the high mobility of males. Reproductive behavioral sequences have a clear beginning and end. However, more than 1 interaction with the same female was not observed. After contact is completed, the male begins to search for a new partner. The contact of opposite-sex individuals itself consists of repeatedly alternating sniffs and approaches of the male to the female. The leading role in contacts belongs to females. Substituting postures – lateral posture and “sitting” posture lead to the implementation of reproductive behavior, and hiding – to a short-term increase in the activity of males and the cessation of contact. A large number of expressive movements of females are associated with aggression, which is associated with the short time period of females’ readiness for mating, as well as with the high activity of males during this period. Similar variants of sexual behavior in New World ground squirrels are described in the literature as competitive polygyny. Mating occurs both on the surface at the entrance to the burrow and in the burrow.

Caring for the offspring consists of females monitoring the broods during their activity on the surface and preparing temporary burrows for the settling suslyats. There have also been cases of females transferring still blind cubs to better warmed parts of the burrow or to the surface when meteorological conditions worsen.

Group behavior of suslyat of one brood before the start of settlement is characterized by a gradual decrease in the degree of group cohesion and an increase in the proportion of agonistic contacts between its members. A special place in the behavior of young people belongs to play, which develops according to the “dominant-subordinate” scheme in two typical forms - with a change of the dominant role and without a change. The expressive movements recorded in play interactions correspond to the expressive movements of adults in reproductive and agonistic contacts. An important feature of all play contacts was the dominant role of males in them (83.3%).

http://www.bcc.seu.ru/programs/rodent/species/spermophilus_major.html

There are 280 species of the squirrel family on the globe. Gophers belong to the class of mammals from the rodent genus and the squirrel family, their body size is four times larger than normal. More than forty species of these rodents are known.

The gopher weighs from two hundred grams to one and a half kilograms, its body is about fifteen centimeters long. Most ground squirrels are gray-brown in color, which is great for camouflage. Protruding teeth are visible on the muzzle, with the help of which it digs holes without swallowing the soil.

For the same purpose, they have well-developed sharp claws, five on each front paw. The eyes and ears are small, but the eyes are equipped with enlarged lacrimal glands, presumably to provide fluid to wash away dust and dirt.

It is not customary to keep a gopher as a pet, but in some places you can find such an animal for sale. Animal gopher buy available in pet stores, it is exported as an exotic pet.

If desired, they can be trained to walk on a leash and follow commands. If the rodent was bought small, it will not bite only when it senses danger. They become attached to people and are quite affectionate.

Features and habitat of the gopher

live gophers group of animals, small colonies of twenty or more individuals are mostly single mothers with cubs, ready to come to each other’s rescue. Gophers live in burrows up to a meter long, which they dig themselves; the entrances to all burrows are close to each other.

The burrows are marked with small mounds. Such tunnels can even pass under rivers and lakes. A nesting chamber lined with dry straw was built inside the dwelling. In such a nest, the gopher sleeps all winter and most of the summer, spending the fat accumulated during wakefulness in its sleep.

During the wintering period, it eats seeds and hay stored in the hole. Animals prefer to settle in open spaces in meadows, steppes, semi-deserts and even deserts. These rodents are territorial and do not like to live in groups, with a maximum of two individuals per hole.

In the steppe zone the animal is gopher Covers itself with its tail like an umbrella to avoid overheating. During the day, when the sun is at its zenith, gophers take a siesta in cool burrows. Since gophers are from the squirrel family, they are excellent tree climbers.

Character and lifestyle of the gopher

Gophers animals very smart and resourceful. They have many enemies such as hawks, snakes, bobcats, raccoons, antelope, coyotes, wolves and foxes. All of them are not against eating a well-fed gopher.

They can also be hunted for their skins, which are used to make fur products. At any suspicion of danger, the gopher stands on its hind legs and looks around. Animals scream when in danger, emitting a shrill squeak or whistle, warning the family and urging them to take refuge in their holes.

Moreover, when a person, a predator or a bird approaches, sounds of different tones are made, noticing who exactly is approaching. One of the flock is always on duty, photo of animal gopher you can see him standing stretched out at his post.

The animals' eyesight is poor due to their frequent stay underground, so they climb to elevated places to clearly see the movements of approaching enemies. At times they are helped by cave owls, which settle in holes abandoned by gophers.

Snakes can enter burrows and eat their offspring. To protect her children, the mother stands across the hole and intensively waves her tail, creating the appearance that she is larger than she actually is. Even if the gopher gets into a fight, the mother does not retreat even when bitten by poisonous snakes.

Gophers have an antidote for snake bites, which is not fatal. Gophers rarely move more than a hundred meters from their burrows in order to have time to hide.

They move well through tunnels both forward and backward, thanks to their sensitive tail, which probes the walls of the passages. If the male has eaten well of his fat reserves, then he goes into hibernation already in early June, then the adult females, and in the first ten days of July - early August, the young individuals also go into hibernation. After hibernation, gophers wake up only after the first food appears, around the end of March.

Gopher nutrition

Gophers animals Herbivores they eat plants, leaves, flowers, seeds, berries and fruits such as carrots, radishes, and other succulent vegetables. Mouse-like creatures do not disdain worms and larvae, which supplement their diet with protein.

Gophers have a strict lifestyle, requiring two meals a day: breakfast early in the morning and dinner late in the evening. Gophers eat, very quickly stuffing their cheeks in reserve and finishing their food in their shelter.

Their cheeks serve as pouches with which they carry supplies to their burrows. For people, these rodents can be a real scourge, as they often destroy crops in the fields.

For this reason, farmers in places where rodents live shoot or poison these animals. There is even a service that deals with the destruction of these pests.

Reproduction and life expectancy of the gopher

Males are twice the size of females. Immediately after hibernation, gophers are ready to reproduce and can reproduce several times during the year. These animals mature to sexual activity early; at six months they are ready to mate.

The fertilization process occurs like a dog. The female carries the cubs for four weeks; the offspring number from two to eight. Steppe animals gophers are born deaf, blind and naked. At the age of one week, the young grow a fluffy coat, and after two weeks they open their eyes.

During the first months, babies depend on their mother's milk and her care. The crumbs emerge from the hole after a month or two. At the age of two months, the young have not yet developed an antidote to snake bites, so they are very vulnerable. A caring mother digs a new hole for the young and drags them to live separately.

Gophers live from one to three years; some types of gophers in nature live up to eight years. Pocket pets can live up to five years. Most species are not of concern for extinction.