It's a regional thing. Squirrel and squirrel brains are quite a delicacy down south. From what I have heard about eating Gopher, it has a really strong gamy flavor. People will try to eat anything. Hell, look at Asia, they can and do eat just about anything that walks, crawls or creeps and flies. Watch "Bizarre Foods" on the Travel Channel. In Maine they do eat Beaver, and I mean the rodent not what just crossed your mind. Though from what I saw there was a lot puns suppressed every time the host said, "eating Beaver".