American Badger

American Badger is found in the Great Plains region of North America, north through the central western Canadian provinces, throughout the western United States, and south throughout the mountainous areas of Mexico.

American Badger measures 520 to 875 mm from head to tail. These animals weigh 4 to 12 kg. Badger males are larger than females. Badgers from northern populations are larger than badgers from southern populations. The American Badger’s body is flattened, his legs are short and stocky. The fur on the back and flanks of the American Badger tends to range from grayish to reddish. American Badgers have a distinct face with black patches, whitish throat and chin. They have a white dorsal stripe extending back over the head from the nose.

American Badgers are sometimes called digging machines. They possess powerful forelimbs which they use to easily tunnel through the soil. They construct their burrows mainly in the pursuit of prey. However they also use them for sleeping. A typical American Badger den is as far a 3 meters below the surface. It may contain about 10 meters of tunnels, and have an enlarged room specially for sleeping. American Badgers use multiple burrows within their home range. They may not use the same burrow more often than once a month. American Badgers catch most of their food by digging. For example, they can tunnel after rodents with amazing speed.

American Badger males have larger home ranges than females. During the breeding season, the home ranges of both male and female badgers expands, since American Badgers tend to travel more extensively during this period to find mates.

American Badgers are mainly active at night. Though badgers are basically inactive during the winter months, they are not true hibernators. They spend much of the winter in cycles of torpor. During torpor periods badger’s body temperature falls to about 9 degrees Celsius. On warm winter days American Badgers come out of their dens.

American Badgers are carnivorous animals. Their prey include prairie dogs, pocket gophers, ground squirrels, moles, marmots, woodrats, deer mice, ground nesting birds, kangaroo rats, lizards, amphibians, carrion, fish, hibernating skunks, insects etc. American Badger also consumes some plant foods, such as corn and sunflower seeds.