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Introduction

Overall, it is believed that the American badger population is healthy and stable over most of its range. However, there is concern over badger populations in the following areas:

• British Columbia, Canada. The badger has a very restricted range in British Columbia, and the population is thought to number no more than 1,000 animals, and possibly as few as 300. Consequently, the badger has been placed on the "Blue List" of species considered to be Sensitive or Vulnerable by BC Environment. The decline in badger numbers in BC began when the province was settled. Indiscriminate trapping and shooting, and the poisoning of rodent populations, continued until relatively recent times. Today, habitat loss and road casualties are the most serious threats to the few badgers that remain. [b012]
• Alberta, Canada. The badger is included on a list of "Mammals of the Watch List" [w051], but I do not have any further details on the status of the animal in this province at present.
• California, USA. The badger is listed as a "Species of Special Concern" by the California Department of Fish and Game. The species was once fairly common in California, being found throughout the state's open grassland habitats, but it is now an uncommon animal. [w031]
• New Mexico, USA. This state has been listed as an area where more needs to be done to improve conditions for badgers [b001]. However, the badger is listed as a furbearer and is hunted [w050] as in most other US states where the species occurs.
• Mexico. The status of the badger in Mexico is described as "precarious" [b001], and the species is considered as threatened by the Diario Oficial de la Federacion [w049].

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Hunting and "pest control"

In some parts of the USA and Canada, badger numbers have declined because of indiscriminate "pest control" activities (traps set for coyotes, and poisons meant for other predators), unregulated sport hunting, and trapping (some 50,000 badgers were taken every year for their fur in the 1970's, though this number fell to 20,000 in the 1980's) [b001, b002, b003-01]. [More info]

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Road casualties

Many American badgers are killed by road traffic. A peak in the number of road casualties occurs in February - March time [b002].

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Habitat loss

In some places, the conversion of pasture and grasslands to arable land has led to a decline in the number of badgers. In other areas though, the clearance of forests and their replacement with meadows has created habitats more favourable for the species [b001].

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Lack of information

Lack of information would not seem to a problem for this species, living as it does on a continent which is well studied by naturalists, ecologists and zoologists. However, the fact that the species is common means that it is not studied to any great degree over most of its range. This raises the possibility that in some areas, a decline in the population might not be detected.

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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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