Which animal is described by these traits: uses cheek pouches to carry food, eats plant roots, tunnels 4 to 18 inches below ground with mounds of soil, and can be controlled without a permit.

• A. Pocket Gopher
• B. Prairie Dog
• C. Mole
• D. Beaver

Answer: (A)

Cheek pouches used to carry food, along with eating plant roots and digging tunnels just below the surface with characteristic soil mounds, point to pocket gophers. These rodents carry gathered food in fur-lined cheek pockets as they excavate and move material to their underground burrows. They primarily feed on roots and tubers, not above-ground vegetation, which fits the diet described. Their tunneling habit creates networks just a few inches to a foot below the surface, and the soil pushed to the surface forms distinctive mounds at burrow entrances. In many places, pocket gophers can be controlled without a permit, though local regulations should always be checked. Putting these clues together, the animal described is the pocket gopher.