Gophers are primarily known for their subterranean lifestyle. Gophers do not climb trees, as their physical characteristics and behaviors are adapted for an underground existence. While they may occasionally climb very low obstacles or shrubs, their anatomy is not suited for arboreal movement.
Gopher Characteristics and Behavior
Gophers are burrowing rodents, typically ranging from 5 to 14 inches in length, including their short tails. They possess adaptations for their life underground, including powerful forelimbs with large claws for efficient digging. Their small eyes and ears, along with sensitive whiskers and tails, further aid navigation in their dark tunnel systems. These animals have fur-lined cheek pouches used for transporting food, which gives them their common name, “pocket gophers.”
Their diet consists of roots, tubers, and other underground plant parts, which they access by pulling plants into their tunnels. Gophers’ continuously growing incisors are well-suited for gnawing on tough, gritty plant material found beneath the surface. They spend most of their lives within extensive burrow systems including various chambers for nesting, food storage, and waste. This specialized anatomy and behavior optimize them for digging and living beneath the soil, making them ill-equipped for climbing trees.
How Gophers Affect Trees
While gophers do not climb trees, they can cause damage to them from below the ground. Their primary harm involves feeding on tree roots, which can weaken or kill young trees. Gophers consume tree roots, interrupting water and nutrients. This feeding can lead to girdling, where the gopher chews the bark and cambium layer of the tree’s roots or lower trunk, typically at or just below the soil line.
Their extensive tunneling activities can also destabilize tree roots, especially for newly planted trees. Visible signs of gopher activity, such as crescent-shaped soil mounds with a plugged opening, indicate their presence and subterranean threat to trees. If a tree appears stressed or withered without an obvious cause, gopher damage to its roots might be the underlying issue.
Animals Mistaken for Gophers in Trees
Confusion about gophers climbing trees often arises because other rodents with similar appearances or behaviors do climb. Squirrels are common tree-climbing rodents that might be mistaken for gophers due to their general shape. Tree squirrels are agile climbers with long, bushy tails, which they use for balance, and large eyes. Chipmunks, smaller with distinct stripes, also readily climb trees and are seen above ground.
Ground squirrels, despite their name, are also frequently mistaken for gophers, especially since some species burrow. Ground squirrels have more slender bodies and bushy tails compared to gophers’ stockier build and short, less noticeable tails. Unlike gophers, these rodents are often observed moving above ground and within trees, distinguishing them from the primarily subterranean gopher.