The camas pocket gopher (Thomomys bulbivorus) is a rodent native to the
Willamette Valley of northwestern Oregon in the United States. The
herbivorous mammal collects its food in large, fur-lined, external cheek
pouches, then hoards any surplus in underground tunnels. The coat, dull
brown to lead gray, changes color and texture over the year. The
gophers' large, protuberant incisors are well adapted for use in tunnel
construction, particularly in the hard clay soils of the Willamette
Valley. They make chattering sounds with their teeth; males and females
make purring (or crooning) sounds when they are together, and the young
make twittering sounds. Born toothless, blind and hairless, the young
grow rapidly before being weaned at about six weeks of age. The species
is prey for raptors and carnivorous mammals, and host to several
parasitic arthropods and worms. While population trends are generally
stable, threats to the species' survival include urbanization, habitat
conversion for agricultural use and active attempts at eradication with
trapping and poisons. Fiercely defensive when cornered, the gopher may
become tame in captivity.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camas_pocket_gopher>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1860:
The Pony Express, a mail service that became the most direct
means of long distance communication to the American West, began
operation.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pony_Express>
1888:
The first of eleven unsolved brutal murders of women committed
in or near the impoverished Whitechapel district in the East End of
London, occurred.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitechapel_murders>
1948:
An uprising began on Jeju Island, eventually leading to the
deaths of between 14,000 and 30,000 individuals due to fighting between
its various factions, and the violent suppression of the rebellion by
the South Korean army.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeju_uprising>
1961:
An individual Leadbeater's possum, thought to have been extinct
for over 50 years, was discovered in New South Wales, Australia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leadbeater%27s_possum>
1981:
The Osborne 1, the first successful portable computer, was
unveiled at the West Coast Computer Faire in San Francisco.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osborne_1>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
elephantry:
(military, historical) That branch of an army that uses elephants.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/elephantry>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
You may not believe in evolution, and that is all right. How we
humans came to be the way we are is far less important than how we
should act now to get out of the mess we have made for ourselves.
--Jane Goodall
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jane_Goodall>