Kim Brewer, age 10, of Jamestown, N.Y., for her question:

HOW LONG IS A GOPHER TUNNEL?

Gophers live in all parts of North America except the far North and the East. The small animals seldom come out of their long,complex, underground tunnels.

       Gophers spend much of their time patrolling their tunnels, which may be as long as 800 feet. They usually keep other gophers from entering, except during the breeding season.

Gophers dig their tunnels with the large claws of their front feet and with their front teeth. They move slowly. Since they live underground where it is dark, they have extremely poor sight.

American gophers are called pocket gophers because they have fur lined pouches on the outsides of their cheeks. They grow to be about  10 inches long.