American Badger

Badger is a common name that belongs to many animals.
The badger family includes other animals.. cousins such as weasels, ferrets, otters and several others but the true American Badger is a short squat, powerful animal with short legs, a long snout (nose) and a powerful body that is very well muscled..

They have a lower jaw bone that is connected to the upper one by the means of a condyle that allows them to hold tight to any prey.

It limits their jaw movement somewhat but will give the little badger the ability to hang on to nearly anything at all with an extreme tenacity.

The badger digs tunnels in which to live, hollowing out small areas to have their young.
A male badger is a boar, the female is called a sow and the little ones are termed cubs. A colony of badgers is called a cete, a clan or colony.

Badgers are a bit different than other animals of the same family, with all of them living beneath the ground. Some live solitary lives while others live in clans.

The size of the clans ranges from about 3 to 15 but of course can be more or less..
The badger is quite a fierce animal and will protect themselves and their young at all costs. The badger is capable of fighting off and sometimes killing animals which are several times their size. They have been known to fight off wolves, coyotes or bears, and can run at speeds up to about 25 to 30 miles per hour for a short distance.

Badgers will mostly prey on smaller mammals, such as gophers, squirrels, prairie dogs, woodrats and voles.
They are omnivores who will also eat bees, some plant such as corn, peas, green beans, sunflower seeds and fungus.

Unlike most carnivores that stalk prey in the open, the badger will most often catch their prey while digging, and can tunnel after other animals at lightning speeds.

During the early 60’s and 70’s many badgers were gassed to keep control of rabies in England and in some areas of England and U.S. they are still hunted as pests.