Thomomys talpoides
Silhouette: Xavier A. Jenkins · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~30%
The northern pocket gopher (Thomomys talpoides) is a small gopher species native to the western United States and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan, British Columbia, and Manitoba. Northern pocket gophers have long rich brown to yellowish brown fur, paler below, with a black patch behind the ear. They weigh 60 to 160 grams (2.1 to 5.6 oz).
Their habitat consists usually of good soil in meadows or along streams; most often in mountains, but also in lowlands. Northern pocket gophers rarely appear above ground; when they do, they rarely venture more than 2.5 feet (0.76 m) from a burrow entrance. Underground, however, they often have tunnels that extend hundreds of feet where they live, store food, and give birth to their young.
According to an article published in the Journal of Mammalogy, there are both positive and negative impacts of burrowing by pocket gophers on the organisms around them. Burrowing and grazing have an impact on the plants and the herbivores that consume these plants, even though gophers do not directly interact with the insects in their habitats. Changes in the plants' composition can cause an increase... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grand Teton National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Yellowstone National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Rocky Mountain National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Calgary | 🇨🇦 Canada |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Northern Pocket Gopher sighting in Yellowstone National Park on a given day, based on 12 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 30th most-seen of the 32 mammals we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April and June–July
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Northern Pocket Gopher in Yellowstone National Park on a given day, against under 5% in May and August–March, the lowest months.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Northern Pocket Gopher sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Northern Pocket Gopher sightings, Yellowstone National Park ranks 2nd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Grand Teton National Park (United States, about 10%).
Same order: Rodentia
The closest relatives of the Northern Pocket Gopher that you can see in Yellowstone National Park (order Rodentia, Rodents) are Uinta Ground Squirrel (about 50%), Yellow-bellied Marmot (about 50%) and Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel (about 40%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Northern Pocket Gopher is recorded against all the mammals logged in Yellowstone National Park (12 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
