A Closer Look at the Other Badgers

An American badger. Photo by Lady Leonov.

American badgers live in Canada, the United States and northern Mexico. The Latin name is Taxidea taxus. They can weigh anything from 4 kilograms to 12 kilograms. The length from the nose to the end of tail can be as little as 52 centimetres to as much as 87 centimetres. This includes a tail of 10-15 centimetres. The legs are quite short, and the body is wide.

The American badger has a striking black and white face. The pattern is not quite the same as on the face of the European badger. Two dark stripes run from the nose to the top of the head, and there is a dark patch on each cheek. The rest of the face is white. The body of the American badger is greyish or brownish.

Hog badgers live in South-east Asia. The Latin name for this species is Arctonyx collaris. Adults can weigh from 7 kilograms to 14 kilograms. They can measure from 67 centimetres to 87 centimetres in length. This includes a tail measuring from 12 centimetres to 17 centimetres.

The hog badger looks very much like the European badger. Its black and white is almost identical. However, as well as the two main stripes, there is also another stripe on each cheek. This second stripe runs from the mouth, and joins with the main stripe just below the ear. The fur on the hog badger's body can be greyish, brownish, or yellowish.

There are three species of ferret badger: the Chinese ferret badger (Melogale moschata), the Burmese ferret badger (Melogale personata), and the Everett's ferret badger (Melogale everetti). All of them live in South-east Asia.

The ferret badgers are much smaller than the other badgers; they weigh from 1 kilogram to 3 kilograms. They look much more like other members of the weasel family, with slim bodies and long tails. They can be from 48 centimetres to 66 centimetres long. The tail makes up around half of this length (from 15 centimetres to 23 centimetres).

Ferret badgers have dark faces, with whitish or yellowish markings on the cheeks, between the eyes, and on the top of the head. The rest of the ferret badger's body is grey or brown in colour. Ferret badgers are very good climbers.

There are two species of stink badger. The Indonesian stink badger lives in Indonesia and some of the nearby islands in South-east Asia. Its Latin name is Mydaus javanensis. The Palawan stink badger lives only on two small islands called Palawan and Busuanga, between Borneo and the Philippenes in South-east Asia. Its Latin name is Mydaus marchei.

The stink badgers are short, stocky animals, with very short tails. Not much is known about them - not even how heavy they are! The Indonesian stink badger is 42-58 centimetres long, including a tail of 5-7 centimetres. The Palawan stink badger is smaller: 33-50 centimetres long, including a tail of 1-4 centimetres.

These badgers are mostly dark brown in colour. The Indonesian stink badger has a white patch on the top of its head. It also has a white stripe, which goes right down the middle of its back, from its head to its tail. The Palawan stink badger has markings which are almost the same, but the patch on its head is yellowish. Also, the stripe does not go all the way down the middle of its back. It starts on its head, but only goes as far as the shoulders.

The honey badger is not a "true" badger, but it is a very close relative. It is also known as the ratel. The Latin name for the honey badger is Mellivora capensis. Honey badgers live in Africa, the Middle East, and across Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.

Just like the true badgers, honey badgers are short and stocky with very powerful legs. They also have strong jaws, and long claws on their front feet. Adult honey badgers measure from 80 centimetres to 107 centimetres from nose to tail; this includes a tail of 20 to 30 centimetres. They can weigh between 7 and 13 kilograms.

The honey badger is very striking in appearance. The top of its head and its back are silvery grey, while the rest of its body is black. Not all honey badgers are like this however. In the forests of West Africa, and in a forest in northern Zaire, there are completely black honey badgers.