Gophers, also called pocket gophers, can be any one of the 38 species that belong to the Geomyidae family. These outdoor rodents spend a lot of their time underground in search of food.

Gophers are also much smaller than groundhogs. The average gopher weighs about 2 pounds, while a groundhog weighs about 15 pounds. Is a Gopher the Same as a Pocket Gopher?

When Kansas State College hired Freddie Hisaw as an assistant professor of zoology and mammalogist in 1919, he "didn't even know what a mammalogist was. It turned out to be a fancy name for ...