What exactly is a badger?

Question

Is it a rodent? Are they considered pests (like raccoons), or what?

Answer 1

Here you can see a lot of images

http://images.google.co.uk/images?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=SUNA,SUNA:2005-40,SUNA:en&q=badger&sa=N&tab=wi

Badger is the common name for any animal of three subfamilies, which belong to the family Mustelidae: the same mammal family as the ferrets, the weasels, the otters, and several other types of carnivore. There are 8 species of badger, in three subfamilies: Melinae (the Eurasian badgers), Mellivorinae, (the Ratel or honey badger), and Taxideinae (the American badger). The Asiatic stink badgers of the genus Mydaus were formerly included in the Melinae, but recent genetic evidence indicates that these are actually Old World relatives of the skunks (family Mephitidae).

Typical badgers (Meles, Arctonyx, Taxidea and Mellivora species) are short-legged and heavy-set. The lower jaw is articulated to the upper, by means of a transverse condyle firmly locked into a long cavity of the cranium, so that dislocation of the jaw is all but impossible. This enables the badger to maintain its hold with the utmost tenacity.

Badgers are the largest indigenous carnivores in the United Kingdom. They are known to grow to two metres in length, but never more than 50 cm tall.

Answer 2

A badger is not a rodent, but a mustelid. Although rodents and mustelids both appeared around the same time, their closest relationship is that they are both mammals; they are of the same class, but not the same order. Badgers are sometimes considered pests, largely because they can spread disease among populations of livestock.

Answer 3

A badger is a mammal, it belongs to the family mustelids, they are related to weasels, stoats, ferrets, otters, wolverines. Most mustelids are carnivores. The European badger (Meles meles) is a protected species in the UK. It is illegal to purposely kill a badger and/or destroy/disturb its sett (the place where it lives). European badgers are omnivorous, they eat both meat and plant foods, however the main part of the European badger diet is earthworms. The European badger is the largest mustelid in the UK.

Answer 4

A badger is a mammal. It is nocturnal, and likes to live in family group. They have black and white stripes on their head. Sometimes referred to as a "Brock" badger. They have grey coats, very dense fur and they have very sharp teeth. They live in burrows quite often near railways as they can find dead animals to eat on the track-although obviously dangerous to them. There is a group/groups of people in the uk that carry on the sport??? of badger baiting where they dig out the badger and send the dogs in to tear it up. Often called "Lamping" as the men who do this carry lamps/torches to see their way in the dark

Answer 5

I watched the SF delight parade on television one 3 hundred and sixty 5 days and that i discussed genuine stay peepees at the same time as a guy in a kilt ran up and flashed the digital camera. Yay for peepees! In Santa Cruz, I said a gaggle of ladies flow down the line without shirts on. a lot of boobs. no longer particulary the nicest boobs, yet they were boobs. I do exactly not understand why they were taking position the line. Darn Hippies.

Answer 6

They're usually big life-less lumps of fur on the highway where I come from. There seem to be no end of badgers dying because of motorists!

Answer 7

Badgers are mean little critters. Don't mess with them, nasty temper! I speak from experience.

Answer 8

An ill-tempered mammal with a ravenous appetite?

Answer 9

Badgers? We ain't got no badgers!

We don neeeed no steenkin' badgers!!!

Answer 10

badger
Encyclopædia Britannica Article




North American badger (Taxidea taxus).
Alvin E. Staffan from the National Audubon Society Collection/Photo Researchers


common name for any of several stout carnivores, most of them members of the weasel family (Mustelidae), that are found in various parts of the world and are known for their burrowing ability. The 10 species differ in size, habitat, and coloration, but all are nocturnal and possess anal scent glands, powerful jaws, and large, heavy claws on their forefeet, which are used to dig for food and construct underground dens. The North American badger (Taxidea taxus) feeds mostly on rodents, but Old World species are omnivorous. Badgers are classified into six genera. Some, especially the American badger, are hunted for their pelts.

The American badger, the only New World species, is usually found in open, dry country of western North America. Muscular, short-necked, and flat-bodied, it has a broad, flattened head and short legs and tail. The colour of the coat is grayish and grizzled, dark at the face and feet with a white stripe extending from the nose to the back. It is 23 cm (9 inches) tall and 42–76 cm long, excluding the 10–16-cm tail, and it weighs 4–12 kg (9–26 pounds). The American badger is a powerful animal that captures most of its prey by rapid digging. Generally solitary, it feeds mainly on rodents, particularly ground squirrels, pocket gophers, mice, and voles. Other prey include insects, reptiles, and eggs of ground-nesting birds. Mostly nocturnal, American badgers spend the day inside a burrow often dug the night before. Home ranges are from 1 to 10 square km (0.4 to 4 square miles), depending on habitat and food resources. During the winter they sleep underground for long periods. To survive this period of fasting, they accumulate large amounts of body fat during late summer and autumn. Mating occurs during this time, but implantation of the zygote is delayed. Thus, although the young (usually two or three) are born the following spring, true gestation is only six weeks.

The Eurasian badger (Meles meles) is omnivorous, consuming earthworms, insects, small mammals, birds and their eggs, and also fruits and nuts. It is grayish, with large black-and-white facial stripes. It is 30 cm tall and 56–81 cm long, excluding the 12–20-cm tail, and weighs 8–10 kg or more. This social species lives in groups within an extensive network of burrows called sets. Adult Eurasian badgers have few natural predators. In Europe tuberculosis and starvation are the most important causes of natural mortality, but thousands are killed annually by vehicles.

Ferret badgers (genus Melogale), also called tree badgers or pahmi, consist of four species: Chinese (M. moschata), Burmese (M. personata), Everett's (M. everetti), and Javan (M. orientalis). They live in grasslands and forests from northeast India to central China and Southeast Asia where they consume mostly insects, worms, small birds, rodents, and wild fruits. They are brownish to blackish gray, with white markings on the face, throat, and sometimes the back. Smaller than American and Eurasian badgers, they average 33–43 cm long, excluding the 12–23-cm tail.

The hog badger (Arctonyx collaris), also called the hog-nosed, or sand, badger, is a pale-clawed species of both lowland and mountainous regions in a range similar to that of ferret badgers. It is gray to black, with a black-and-white-striped head pattern and white throat, ears, and tail. It is 55–70 cm long, excluding the 12–20-cm tail, and weighs 7–14 kg. Hog badgers are nocturnal and find food by rooting. Their diet consists mostly of earthworms and other invertebrates, but they also consume fruits and small mammals.

Stink badgers consist of two species, the Malayan stink badger (Mydaus javanensis), also called the skunk badger or teledu, and the Palawan, or Calamanian, stink badger (M. marchei). The Malayan stink badger is an island dweller of Southeast Asia that usually lives in mountainous areas. It is brown to black with white on the head and sometimes with a stripe on the back. It is 38–51 cm long, excluding the short tail, and weighs 1–4 kg. The Palawan stink badger is a little-known badger from the Philippines on Palawan and neighbouring islands. Its scent is very strong and offensive. Both stink badgers have been reclassified from Mustelidae to the skunk family, Mephitidae. Like skunks, stink badgers have anal glands that produce a strong-smelling fluid that can be sprayed.

For the honey badger (Mellivora capensis), see ratel.

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