Wildlife Spotting: Griffith Park.

While hanging out at Griffith Park, Bordeaux noticed a surge of movement in a small hole in the grass. Thinking we were at the home of a mole, we camped out, and waited for it to return. Eventually we saw it again- a quick flash of big teeth and brown fur. While we sat outside the first hole, it started working on a new one- grass and clover began disappearing as if shrinking back into the soil. Eventually he popped his head out and looked around, and we realized that we were not looking at a mole. Later research would confirm that this was a pocket gopher. He continued to eat for awhile, grabbing grasses with his teeth and storing them in his cheeks. He never stuck more than his head out from the hole, only occasionally coming out enough to show us his long claws. Eventually, when he'd had his fill, he quickly went to work pushing loose dirt up from his burrow. In four quick pushes, he had covered up his hole completely with a mound of soft earth.