Badger

Badger is a powerful digging animal. Badger, or the North American Badger is similar in appearance to the European Badger. These animals are powerfully built, having wedge-shaped bodies, short powerful legs, a small head with a triangular face, a short thick neck, a short tail and an elongated snout. Their skin is tough, with long coarse guard hairs. American Badgers have powerful jaws and carnassial teeth. Badgers possess strong claws. Badgers are also known for their ability to run backwards as fast as forwards.

Characteristic features of badger are their huge foreclaws and striking facial color markings. These animals measure between 23.6 to 29.5 inches in length. Males of the species are larger than females. Adult male badgers can weigh over 25 pounds, especially in the fall, when there is much food. Badgers are generally nocturnal, but may also be active during the day.

The badger is carnivorous, and digs out chipmunks, ground squirrels, mice and rabbits. Badgers eat carrion, birds, snakes, small vertebrates, invertebrates, fruit, roots and tend to cache food.

North American badgers mate in August or September. Males breed with more than one female. The litters of 1-5 are born in spring. Badgers are solitary for most of the year and are often aggressive to intruders who come to their territory.

Badgers construct multiple burrows within their home range not only in the pursuit of prey. They also sleep in burrows, which are usually as far a 3 meters below the surface. Their dens may contain about 10 meters of tunnels. Badgers may also modify woodchuck or prarie dog burrows rather than build their own. There may be several side tunnels connected to the main tunnel built by a badger. If the weather gets severe, the badger tends to block the tunnel entrance.

Badgers don’t have serious foes in their natural environment. The primary predators of badgers are humans. Unfortunately, it’s mainly people who are responsible for badger’s habitat destruction, trapping, hunting, automobile fatalities, and poisoning badgers etc. The number of badgers has declined also due to the extermination of many of their prey in agricultural areas.