At my house, the gophers I occasionally get to watch are huge and hugely skittish: the slightest movement from me and they pop back into their hole---tail first, no less! :) (They hardly ever emerge fully: usually, only the top half of them---or even only the snout, shoveling away!---is visible.)
So you can imagine how thrilled I was today when I got to pet what I at first glance assumed to be either a blind or a sick gopher: grocery-bag cheek pouches bulging, he was nonetheless earnestly chomping at scraggly weed strands on the gravel shoulder next to the road crossing the lake. Totally preoccupied with his foraging, he didn't seem to notice my stroking his short-silky fur. I got away with about 10 of those. But then, like when you play a video in reverse, he starts backing into a couple of the little tunnel holes gaping around him right there. None of them were the right size. So on the 3rd hole, he decides to poke his snout in, but, nope, that didn't work either. More backward wiggling &wriggling. Finally about 2 feet away, he evidently found his own front door, bec. in a flash, still in reverse, he disappeared.
I continued around the lake, but when I got back to that spot, 12 min. later, there he was again, munching on weed stalks. So, of course, I wasn't about to miss out on another opportunity for friendliness. Worried about his vulnerability to the offal-types that hang out in that park, I'm stroking his li'l nose and spine. Youch! In a split-second, he proves my theory wrong! In what appears to be one single acrobatic antic, lightning fast, he simultaneously FLIPS over on his back, attaches to my right index finger and chomps. Just as quickly he spins around again and lands on his feet, continuing to munch on weeds, as tho nothing had happened.
Me, I paid the price: worried about rabies, I spent the next 3 hours wandering from one medical facility to the next, till I finally got the info straight that rabies weren't a concern, "just" tetanus.
Moral of the story? If you go for a gopher, make sure you don't overstay your welcome. ;)
2 comments on Goldilox Gopher
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I like to watch them in their habitat and take a photo, but too leery to touch them. Hope you're okay? [SMILE]
See, the thing about petting critters is this: on the CA Central Coast, I used to have the ground squirrels even jump up on my knees for a peanut and a petting, that's how friendly and harmless they were. Not a one ever bit me. And this little gopher, he acted so tame and didn't bite for the longest time, so his surprise behavior was a total stunner. But, sigh, I guess I've learned my lesson (I'm chompin' at the bit for the Great Regeneration, The Day when The Lion Lies With The Lamb, bec. one of my huge longstanding wishes is to get to pet koalas and egrets!) [SMILE]