Gopher in My Yard

I know I'm becoming a naturalist when I get excited about seeing a gopher in my yard!  ^_^

I was sitting at my computer, as usual, when I noticed movement outside the window.  When I saw what it was, I was so excited that I jumped up, grabbed my camera, and ran outside for a few shots.

We've had gophers in our yard before, but this one was really big, over a foot long with his shell alone.  

He (I'm going to call it a he even though I have not idea what gender it was), was walking very quickly to his home on the side of my house.  I live in an area that's slightly wilder than mainstream suburbia, with about an acre of woods behind my house and lots of shrubs and palmetto bushes.  The perfect place for a gopher.

Researching gophers on the internet, I discovered that it's the state reptile of Georgia!  I didn't even know states had "state reptiles."  They also snack on mushrooms, which means my gopher must be extra pleased by all the shrooms growing in my yard after light drizzles.

They are called a "keystone species," because they're burrows are home to other animals as well.  The gophers do all the work of making a home, and someone else comes barging in to live there, like an unwanted relative.

Speaking of burrows, here's my friend's home:

He hissed at me when I got too close for comfort, so I followed him back a little ways until he shuffled down into his burrow.