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Introduction

Although localised in their distribution, it does not appear that either of the stink badgers are rare or endangered. Indeed, Mydaus marchei was described in 1976 as being "surprisingly common" wherever it was found [b001]. Its status is listed as "vulnerable" by the World Conservation Monitoring Centre [w045], no doubt because of the species' very limited distribution.

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Hunting

In the past, the anal gland secretion of Mydaus javanensis has been used as a basis for making perfumes; but there is no information to suggest that this practice still goes on today [b001, b003-01]. The species may however be hunted by local peoples for food and to obtain ingredients for traditional medicines [b003-01].

It was reported in 1976 that Mydaus marchei was occasionally used as food by local people [b001].

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Persecution

It has been reported that there have been cases of visitors to the Mt Gede Pangrango National Park beating Indonesian stink badgers to death, as these animals are rather bold and raid the food supplies of campers. [w033]

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Habitat loss

Habitat loss in the form of deforestation is likely to have had some effect on the numbers of both stink badgers.

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Lack of information

As with several of the other types of badger, the almost total absence of any information about these species may threaten their long term survival. No information on population sizes or trends, or on habitat requirements or breeding biology, is available for either of the stink badgers.

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Picture credits

The Palawan stink badger photo used at the head of this Article is © Peter Widmann, and used with his permission. 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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