This here is a groundhog.

It appears that what I've been calling a gopher all this time is, in fact, a groundhog. The gopher is apparently much smaller than the mighty groundhog, also known as a woodchuck. Thanks to faithful reader Antwan for the heads-up (below), which presumably he got from the Internet someplace.

"The big groundhog is about 24 times heavier than the little gopher. The animals look somewhat similar, however, with short neck, legs, and tail. The groundhog (also known as a "woodchuck" and "whistle pig") is a marmot — essentially, a giant North American ground squirrel. The gopher is, like the groundhog, a burrowing member of the rodent order but its closest living relatives are kangaroo rats and pocket mice."