Badgers are brave mammals that inhabit the Great Plains from Canada to Mexico. Several species such as the European badger, Asian badger and Japanese badger can also be found in these areas. Badger heads look like skunk heads with a white stripe, and their bodies are larger than those of a skunk with grayish fur. Badgers live in dens, which they dig with their long, sharp claws. Let’s see 9 incredible facts about badgers:
1. Badger city! The European badger lives together in a network of burrows.
If you stumbled across 40 small holes with a bunch of leaves and hay, you might find the Badger City! European badgers are social animals and live in family groups. Each group builds a series of tunnels (called setts) with lairs scattered all over the place. The community has a badger claw scratcher and they even highlight a specific area as a bathroom!
2. European badgers share their burrows with different animals.
It looks like the badgers are the contractors, builders and landlords of their elaborate burrowing houses. A research team in northern and central Italy studied who lived in burrows of 24 different “families” of badgers. Without disturbing the animals, they used the camera to see who was living in them. Over the course of a three-year study, researchers found that badgers allow eight different species to live in the burrows they built! Animals included crested porcupine, oriental cotton, red fox, pine marten, stone marten, wood mouse, brown rat, and nutria (swamp rat). The oriental cottages were rented out and moved into permanent residence. What an amazing underground city!
3. Badgers sleep for a long time in winter, but do not hibernate.
In the fall, the badgers “pump up” in preparation for the winter months. They do not hibernate, but sleep for a long time to conserve energy. They live off the fatty deposits that accumulate in the fall.
4. Honey badgers have been bitten by the bees, but it won’t hurt them.
Honey badgers are not technically badgers because they are a genius in their own right, but because we want to know how they can destroy honey bee hives and survive, to tell the story of this, let’s take a look at this badger-like animal. One theory is that bees cannot penetrate the thick skin of a honey badger, so even though they are stung, they never go through the skin. The second theory is that the toxins in the venom do not affect honey badgers as much. That’s why you can eat poisonous snakes for lunch! Whatever the real reason, honey badgers constantly think it’s worth raiding hives in search of sweet honey and bee larvae!
5. National Badger Day is October 6, 2021.
There is a special holiday in the UK to draw attention to the European badger. Since twenty-five percent of the European badger population resides in the UK, wildlife experts are encouraging people to learn more about the species and the important role they play in the ecosystem. The vast systems of underground burrows they have created provide refuge for many other animals. They also spread seeds over a wide area, helping a variety of plants. The Badger Trust is trying to raise awareness of badger culling alternatives. Badgers can carry TB and transmit it to local livestock. Trust has a short video about the beloved European badger.
6. One badger species is endangered.
Considering that the habitat is only 2000 sq. Miles, it becomes clear how endangered the Born badger ferret is. It can only be found in the northern part of the island of Borneo. If you saw one of them, you would not think that they are relatives of the aggressive American badger. They look more like ferrets than badgers. They are much smaller in size and have long, fluffy tails. Both badger species share long digging claws. One of the main threats to the species is climate change.
7. Badger versus Weiner’s dog?
Weiner’s dogs (or dachshunds) were bred in Germany to hunt badgers! Their name, translated from German, literally means a badger (dachshund) hound (hunds). Because of their long, skinny build, they were able to drive badgers into their burrows and withstand a decent fight. Border Terriers are another dog breed that was originally bred to hunt foxes and badgers. Shepherds and farmers on the Scottish-English border were looking for ways to deal with foxes and other mammals that hunted their livestock. Border Terriers are good at chasing a fox, but they are also good at digging a fox out of its den. Thanks to this, they well dug our badgers!
eight. Some badger settings (burrow and mink collection) are over 100 years old!
The intricate set of tunnels and minks created by European badgers has been passed down from generation to generation. Because of all the work required to build the village, and because of the large number of other animals that rely on burrows, badgers continue to use them and allow their descendants to use them. “We need to add!” In some cases, badgers are remodeled and added to accommodations for growing families.
nine. “Make your bed!” Badgers change their bedding daily.
Badgers don’t have memory foam mattresses, but they love to sleep on “clean sheets.” They sleep in underground dens on leaves, hay and grass. Scientists watched as they removed the old bedding and replaced it with fresh leaves and grass the next night. As a rule, badgers try to keep their burrows and holes clean.
That’s it, nine facts about badgers that you can surprise and amaze with. If you are looking for more information about badgers, be sure to give “What do badgers eat?” Read their diets explained!