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Classification

There is just one species of American badger, Taxidea taxus. It belongs to the subfamily Melinae along with the other "true badgers", the Eurasian badger, the hog badger, the ferret badgers, and the stink badgers. Four subspecies have been described. [More info]

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Names

The American badger is also known as the New World badger and the silver badger. The Spanish name for the American badger is tejón americano, and the French is blaireau d'Amérique. The North American Indian tribe the Lakota refer to the badger as hoka. [More info]

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Appearance and general characteristics

The American badger is similar in size, build and appearance to the Eurasian badger Meles meles, although it is rather lower to the ground and and broader in the body. Like its Eurasian relative, the American badger has two dark facial stripes, but it also has two black flashes (or 'badges'), one on each cheek.

Head-and-body lengths range from 420mm to 720mm, with tail lengths of 100 - 150mm. Adults may weigh anything from 4 to 12kg. [More info]

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Distribution

The American badger can be found right across the western two-thirds of the US, and the range extends into Canada in the North and Mexico in the south. [More]

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Social organisation

American badgers are loners, leading solitary lives except when males and females meet up to mate, and when females are rearing their young. They occupy large ranges which may overlap, and which are not demarcated or defended as far as is known. However, if one badger meets another, they will apparently attack each other. In an area of good badger habitat in Idaho, studies revealed that males had ranges of 2.4 square kilometres, while females had smaller ranges, 1.6 square kilometres. The ranges of some of the males were overlapped by ranges of up to 3 females, and the females' ranges also overlapped each other.

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Activity patterns

The American badger is largely nocturnal, but not exclusively so. Away from human disturbance day-time activity is not uncommon.

In the colder parts of the badger's range, these animals become less active as winter approaches, and may enter a period of semi-dormancy during winter itself. In the warmer parts of its range however, the badger is active all year round. [More info]

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Dens

Unlike the Eurasian badger, which digs large and complex setts which are occupied for long periods or even continuously, the American badger digs larger numbers of smaller, simpler burrows or dens throughout its range. Most of these are occupied only for very short periods, especially during the summer, when the badger travels widely and may spend each night in a newly excavated burrow. Fewer dens are used in the autumn however, and during the winter, when the badger enters a period of semi-dormancy, just one burrow is used. [More info]

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Food and feeding behaviour

The American badger is much more carnivorous than the other badger species, and actively hunts its prey. The following food items are eaten:

• Small mammals, including ground squirrels, mice, prairie dogs and chipmunks.
• Insect larvae.
• Snakes and lizards.
• Frogs and toads.
• Vegetable material, including cereals.

[More info]

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Life cycle

Litters of 2-3 young are usually born in March or April. The cubs are playful, and have been observed playing at den entrances. The young may disperse soon after weaning, or they may remain until the approach of the next breeding season in late summer or autumn. They then seek out home ranges of their own.

The oldest wild badger on record lived to be 14, and several aged between 8 and 10 have been known, while in captivity, one badger is known to have reached 26 years of age. [More info]

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Predators and defences against them

This badger's ability to shift a large amount of earth in a short space of time is very useful in situations where the animal is caught in the open with nowhere to hide - the badger then simply digs, and can vanish underground in around a minute! This is not to say that the badger cannot defend itself however; if threatened it hisses, and may produce unpleasant, musky emissions from its anal glands. It also has very powerful jaws and can inflict serious bite wounds.

Despite its defences, the American badger is preyed upon by bears, coyotes, cougars, and golden eagles; young badgers are particularly vulnerable.

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Picture credits

The American badger photo used at the head of this Article is a public domain image provided by the US Fish & Wildlife Service; photographer Gary Stolz. Credits for the photos used in the right-hand margin of this page for site navigation can be found on the Credits page.

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