Lifer! Sonoran Gopher

[Allison]

Lifer! Believe it or not, I have never seen a wild Sonoran Gopher until today. This HUGE (5ft) adult was crossing my morning running trail. I picked "him" up with a few minor Hisses and put him in my box for photos. When it came time to release I had the opportunity to show "him" off to some passing mountain bikers. Their interest and questions were encouraging, I love to educate others about our beautiful AZ species!
I named him Buffalo because I found him at "Buffalo Park".

Thanks for looking! :wavey:

 

[CRIKEY!]

GREAT FIND! I lived on the Phoenix/Glendale line for a few years, and I never found a gopher. I caught many Western Diamondbacks, and I once caught a beautiful Long-nosed Snake. But never a gopher. Awesome pics!:bird:

 

[DaGiant]

Awesome find Allison!
(next time put it in a box and send it to me.. LOL)

 

[Allison]

Awesome find Allison!
(next time put it in a box and send it to me.. LOL)

LOL! Will do Gene!

GREAT FIND! I lived on the Phoenix/Glendale line for a few years, and I never found a gopher. I caught many Western Diamondbacks, and I once caught a beautiful Long-nosed Snake. But never a gopher. Awesome pics!:bird:

I know what you mean! I'm always finding lizards, skinks, garters, etc. I even found a rare Black Rattle snake... but no gopher until now!

 

[RobbiesCornField]

He looks like a big ol' sweetie!

 

[RavenSpirit360]

He's beautiful, Love his little spotted face Congrats on the lifer!!

 

[diamondlil]

Congrats on the find, what a beauty!

 

[Allison]

He looks like a big ol' sweetie!

Actually, he was!! He was as tame as an old corn snake! Heck, my Cosmos beats him on the mean scale by X10.

He's beautiful, Love his little spotted face Congrats on the lifer!!

Thank you! I agree, his face was very spotty and unique.

Congrats on the find, what a beauty!

Thanks!

 

[ratsncorns]

Nice find! You just reminded me of another snake I saw in Central FL - a Florida Pine Snake.

Great pics!

 

[tspuckler]

That's a nice one, Allison. I've only found one and it was in Arizona too. But it was nowhere near as large and nicely colored/patterned as that one.

 

[The_Thunderer]

Congrats on the catch and release, Allison! I caught one a few weeks ago and wanted to keep it SOOOO badly. Alas, I've maxed out on room here, so I had to release him. He looked a lot like the one you caught, but was about a foot shorter. Now I wish I had taken pics. He was as "docile" as the one you caught.

Mega congrats!!! They're so beautiful!

 

[Allison]

Nice find! You just reminded me of another snake I saw in Central FL - a Florida Pine Snake.

Awesome! I have never seen a pine in person, even CB.

That's a nice one, Allison. I've only found one and it was in Arizona too. But it was nowhere near as large and nicely colored/patterned as that one.

Thanks, I have been looking for two years now!

Congrats on the catch and release, Allison! I caught one a few weeks ago and wanted to keep it SOOOO badly. Alas, I've maxed out on room here, so I had to release him. He looked a lot like the one you caught, but was about a foot shorter. Now I wish I had taken pics. He was as "docile" as the one you caught.

Congrats! They are SO tempting to keep! I'm glad you were able to find one too.
It's shocking how rare they are out here at 7,000'.