It was thought that humans were unique among mammals when it came to farming –it turns out we might not be alone when comes to tending the land to grow food. The other animal…pocket gophers. Turns out they don’t just harvest longleaf pine roots that grow into their burrows, they cultivate them. Research shows that the gophers know what they are doing. Once the roots hit the burrows, their growth is encouraged by the gopher peeing and pooping on them…fertilization, which makes them grow bigger and better. They spend considerable time maintaining the crops and burrow to make sure they can grow. They’re also important “ecosystem engineers”, aerating the soil as they burrow and returning nutrients to the surface. Now, you might argue that actual farming means planting the crops, but many perennial crops grow on their own and are just carefully managed.
Welcome to the agriculture world gophers!
