There’s a pocket gopher in the Draper Museum’s research collection
A Museum Minute
By Olivia Weitz
Wyoming Public Media
March 6, 2025
A 1-minute audio snapshot highlighting a museum object from the collection of the Buffalo Bill Center of the West.
The Draper Natural History Museum has a northern pocket gopher in its research collection.
Curatorial Assistant Amy Phillips said if you’ve ever gone outside after the snow melts and wondered what those mounds of dirt that look like snakes are, “ These tunnels result from the winter activities of animals like the northern pocket gopher.”
Phillips said gophers spend most of their life underground.
“ To dig these tunnels, gophers use both their big claws, but also their teeth. It sounds really gross, but to avoid getting dirt in their mouth, their lips actually close behind their teeth.”
Phillips suggested trying it for yourself, adding, “It doesn’t work with us, but they have a really great adaptation to close their lips behind their teeth.”
Pocket gophers get their name from their large fur-lined pockets used to store food. Phillips said these pockets can extend from their cheeks to below their rib cage.
