Badgers
Badgers
Badgers are eight species of robust, burrowing carnivores in the subfamily Melinae of the family Mustelidae, which also includes weasels, mink, marten, otters, and skunks. There are eight species of badgers, distributed among six genera.
Badgers have a strong, sturdy body, with short, powerful, strong-clawed legs, and a short tail. The head is slender and triangular. The fur of badgers is largely composed of long, stiff, rather thin guard hairs, with relatively little underfur. Badgers are fossorial animals, meaning they are enthusiastic diggers, often constructing substantial den complexes, usually in sandy ground. Badgers are generally crepuscular, being active at dusk, night, and dawn. Badgers are strong, tough animals, and can readily defend themselves against all but the largest predators.
The American badger
The American or prairie badger (Taxidea taxus ) is widespread in the prairies and savannas of western North America. It is a stout-bodied and stubby-tailed animal with strong front legs armed with long, sturdy claws useful for digging and shorter-clawed hind legs. The primary color of the fur is grayish to brownish red, with a black or dark-brown snout and feet, and bright white markings on the face and top of the head, extending over the front of the back. The hair is longest on the sides of the animal, which accentuates its rather compressed appearance. Males are somewhat larger than females, and can be as long as about 3 ft [1 m] (body plus the tail) and weigh as much as 22 lb (10 kg).
The American badger is a solitary animal during most of the year, coming together only during the breeding season. This species is highly fossorial, and it digs numerous dens. The dens may be used for breeding by successive generations of animals and can be complicated assemblages of tunnels, access holes, and chambers. The sleeping chambers are comfortably lined with grassy hay, which is renewed frequently for cleanliness. However, individual badgers may change their dens rather frequently, sometimes moving around and digging new holes over a rather extensive area. Defecation occurs in holes dug above-ground, which are then covered up. Badgers in northern and alpine parts of the species’ range will hibernate during the winter, but more southerly populations are active throughout the year. American badgers scent-mark their territory, using secretions from a pair of anal glands.
The American badger is primarily a carnivore, catching its own prey or scavenging dead animals. However, it also feeds on plant materials. Prey species include rabbits, ground squirrels, small mammals such as mice and voles, ground-nesting birds, earthworms, snails, and insects. Foraging can occur at any time of day, but most commonly in the late afternoon to dusk. Burrowing prey are excavated by vigorous, extensive digging. Baby badgers are born in the early spring, and they disperse from the natal den in the following autumn.
The American badger has a relatively dense and lustrous fur, which in the past was of commercial value, mostly for use as a fur trim and also for the manufacturing of shaving brushes. The American badger is considered by some farmers and ranchers to be a pest, primarily because its access holes can represent a leg-breaking hazard to large livestock. Consequently, this species has been excessively trapped and poisoned in many areas, greatly reducing the extent and
abundance of its wild populations. Attempts have been made to cultivate American badgers on fur farms, but these did not prove successful.
Other species of badgers
The natural range of the Eurasian badger (Meles meles ) extends south of the tundra throughout most of Europe, Russia, Mongolia, Tibet, China, and Japan. The Eurasian badger is primarily a species of forests and thick scrub, although it also occurs in relatively disturbed habitats, such as parks. The Eurasian badger can reach a length of 3 ft (1 m) and a weight of 35 lb (16 kg). It has pronounced white stripes running along the head and the forepart of its back, overlying a grayish base color. The feet are colored dark brown or black.
The Eurasian badger digs its den or “set” in open sites with sandy soil, using its strong forelegs and stout, sharp claws. The den may be used continuously by many generations of animals, and is a complex of tunnels, with numerous exits, entrances, ventilation holes, sleeping chambers, and even an underground toilet area for use by young (adults defecate in outside pits). The sleeping areas are lined with a bedding of plant materials, which are kept clean by frequent renewals.
The Eurasian badger is monogamous and pairs for life, which can be as long as 15 years. This species is somewhat gregarious, and several pairs will live in harmony in the same complex of burrows. Once the young badgers have matured, however, they are driven from the natal den. This usually occurs after the end of their first winter, when the animals are almost one-year old.
European badgers forage at dusk and during the night, although they may also be seen basking during
KEY TERMS
Crepuscular— Refers to animals that are most active in the dim light of dawn and dusk, and sometimes at night as well.
Fossorial— Refers to animals that spend a great deal of time digging and living underground.
Omnivore— Consumers of a wide range of foods.
the day. These animals are omnivorous, with plant materials comprising about three quarters of the food consumed, and hunted and scavenged animals the remainder. If they are hand-raised as babies, European badgers will become quite tame, but wild-caught adults are not tamable.
The hog-badger (Arctonyx collaris ) occurs in hilly, tropical and subtropical forests of northern India, Nepal, southern China, and Southeast Asia, as far south as Indonesian Sumatra. The hog-badger can weigh as much as 31 lb (14 kg), and is an omnivorous, nocturnal animal with a pig-like snout. This species digs enthusiastically, and climbs well.
The teludu or Malayan stink badger (Mydaus javanensis ) is a brown animal with a broad, white stripe running along its back from the head to the tail. The teludu has well-developed anal glands, which can be used in a skunk-like fashion to deter potential predators by squirting a smelly secretion as far as 5 ft (1.5 m). This species occurs on the Malay Peninsula, Borneo, Sumatra, and Java. The palawan or calamian stink badger (M. marchei ) occurs on some Philippine Islands.
The ferret badgers are various species of relatively slender, ferret-like animals, with a long, bushy tail, a face mask, and an active and inquisitive demeanor. The Chinese ferret badger (Melogale moschata ) occurs in China and northern Southeast Asia. The Bornean or Javan ferret badger (M. orientalis ) occurs on the Southeast Asian islands of Borneo and Sumatra. The Indian ferret badger (M. personata ) occurs from eastern India and Nepal to Thailand and Vietnam. Ferret badgers live in open forests and savannas, and they den in holes dug in the ground or in hollow trees. Ferret badgers are predators of small mammals, birds, and invertebrates.
Resources
BOOKS
Banfield, A.W.F. The Mammals of Canada. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1974.
Nowak, R. M., ed. Walker’s Mammals of the World. 6th ed. Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press, 1999.
Wild Mammals of North America: Biology, Management and Conservation. 2nd ed. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2003.
Wilson, D. E., and D. Reeder. Mammal Species of the World. 3rd ed. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005.
PERIODICALS
Begg, Colleen, and Keith Begg. “Honey Badgers: Fangs Bared, a Year-old Cub Snarls her Refusal When Mom Tries to Reclaim a Bite of Snake Supper. In the First Long-term Study of Honey Badgers in the Wild, Two South African Researchers Reveal the Hard-knock Life Behind the Small Carnivore’s Ferocious Reputation.” National Geographic 206 (September 2004: 96).
Bill Freedman