Christine O'Neil, age 13, of Nampa, Idaho, for her question:

WHY DO THEY CALL IT A 'POCKET GOPHER'?

Pocket gopher is just another name for the common American gopher. It acquired this name because it has fur lined pouches on the outside of its cheeks. It carries food in its cheek pouches.

Gophers are rodents and belong to the same order of animals as beavers, mice and squirrels. They dig long, complex tunnels with the large claws of their front feet and with their front teeth. They spend much of their time patrolling their tunnels, which may be as long as 800 feet.

The gopher's nearly hairless tail is tactile. That is, it acts as an organ of touch. Gophers feel their way with the tail when they back up in a tunnel.

Pocket gophers grow to be about 10 inches long. They eat buds, farm vegetables, grass, nuts and roots. Commercial farmers and home gardeners aren't a bit happy about the damage they do.