Badger
(Taxidea taxus)

Badgers are large members of the weasel family. They are squat and muscular, with long, strong claws for digging, a short tail and they are covered in long, grizzled, grayish-yellow hair. The hair on the flanks is longer than elsewhere, which makes them look even shorter legged than they already are. The badger's facial markings are distinctive: the face is blackish with a thin white stripe running from the nose to the shoulders; a whitish horseshoe-shaped stripe runs from the temple, down across the eye, under the chin and up to the other temple and the rounded ears are white and heavily furred. The badger's legs and feet are dark brown or black.

Badgers live in burrows in open grasslands and feed mainly on rodents, such as ground squirrels and marmots. Their dens are large, they live alone and they are usually nocturnal. Badgers are not as bad-tempered as their reputations would lead you to believe but can be formidable if cornered. They are also quite vocal with a variety of hisses, chirring sounds, snarls, screams, barks and loud snuffles.

back to main section