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European Badgers - How Long Do They Live?
Many badgers die in their first year of life. In fact, out of every three badger cubs born, two will die before they become one year old.
Those cubs who survive to become adults have a good chance of living for several years. Many will go on to ages of between five and eight years old before they die. Primrose, a female badger at the sett where I watch badgers, lived to be about eight years old. Stripe, a male badger at the same sett, is now about ten years old. If he is really lucky, Stripe may live for another five years. Very few wild badgers live to be 15 though.
Badgers in captivity live longer. The oldest badger on record was a captive animal. She was 19 years and six months old when she died.
For badgers in the wild, there are many causes of death:
Predators Adult badgers have few natural enemies. They have powerful jaws and can give a very nasty bite. (This is something you should remember if you ever find an injured badger!) Also, the badger has thick fur, and its skin is thick and loose. This means that if another animal gets hold of a badger in its jaws, it doesn't do much harm to the badger, but the badger can turn round and bite back!
The badger's striking black and white face probably warns other animals to keep away. This is called warning colouration. Other animals with warning colouration include the skunk (with black and white stripes), which can spray attackers with a horrible-smelling liquid, and bees and wasps (with black and yellow stripes) which can sting.
Although adult badgers can defend themselves very well, badger cubs cannot. Cubs are smaller, and they do not have the powerful bite of an adult badger. However, if a cub comes under attack from a predator, it can make itself look like an adult badger. The cub does this by fluffing up its fur, making itself look bigger. It also turns to face its enemy, showing its black and white face. This may be enough to frighten off the attacker.
Even so, in Britain badger cubs are sometimes killed and eaten by foxes. From time to time thay may also be taken by large birds of prey like golden eagles and buzzards. In some of the other countries where the badger lives, there are other predators which may take cubs. These include wolves, lynx, wolverines and eagle owls.
Other natural causes Other natural causes of death kill far more badgers than predators do. The biggest natural killer of badgers is starvation. Lack of food is a big problem in dry summers, especially for cubs. Many badgers die of starvation at this time.
Winter can also be a time when badgers die from starvation. Usually, badgers feed well during the autumn, and they build up a lot of body fat. This helps them to survive during the winter months when there isn't much food about. However, if a badger does not eat well in the autumn, it may die if the winter is long and very cold.
People Sadly, people kill more badgers than predators and other natural causes put together.
Badgers are hunted in most of the countries where they live. Many thousands are killed every year, for their fur, meat, or just for 'sport'. Even in Britain, where badgers are protected by law, some people still dig them from their setts illegally. Badgers are also snared, poisoned and shot.
Badgers are also killed by accident. It is thought that up to 50,000 badgers are killed every year by traffic on Britain's roads.
You can find out more about these problems, and how you can help badgers, in "Save the Badger!"
Go forward to: The Other Badgers - How Long Do They Live? © Steve Jackson 1999-2001, unless otherwise stated. Material on these pages may be copied for personal, educational or other non-commercial use, as long as the source is acknowledged. |