Badgers, occasionally referred to as brocks, are short-legged, heavy-set omnivores in the weasel family, Mustelidae. There are eight species of badger, in three subfamilies (see links in species list below): Melinae (badgers of Europe and Asia), 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 and Mustelidae, but recent genetic evidence indicates that these are actually closer relatives of the skunks, now often put with them in the separate family Mephitidae.
Badgers include the species in the genera Meles, Arctonyx, Taxidea and Mellivora species. Their 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, but limits its jaw movement to hingeing open and shut, or sliding from side to side without the twisting movement possible for the jaws of most mammals.
Badger
Behavior
The behavior of badgers differs by family, but all shelter underground, living in burrows called setts which may be very extensive. Some are solitary, moving from home to home, while others are known to form clans. Clan size is variable from 2 to 15. Badgers can be fierce animals and will protect themselves and their young at all costs. Badgers are capable of fighting off much larger animals such as wolves, coyotes and bears. Badgers can run or gallop at up to 25–30 kilometres per hour (16–19 mph) for short periods of time.
North American Badgers (Taxidea taxus) and Coyotes (Canis latrans) have been seen hunting together, in a cooperative fashion.
Diet
The diet of the Eurasian badger consists largely of earthworms, insects, and grubs. They also eat small mammals, amphibians, reptiles and birds as well as roots and fruit.
The honey badger of Africa consumes honey, porcupines and even venomous snakes (such as the puff adder). They will climb trees to gain access to honey from bees’ nests.
American Badgers are fossorial carnivores. Unlike many carnivores that stalk their prey in open country, badgers catch most of their food by digging. They can tunnel after ground-dwelling rodents with amazing speed. They have been known to cache food.
In North America, coyotes sometimes eat badgers and vice versa, but the majority of their interactions seem to be mutual or neutral.
Badgers have been known to become intoxicated with alcohol after eating rotting fruit.[13]
Badgers and humans
Hunting badgers is common in many countries. Manipulating the badger population is prohibited in many European countries as badgers are listed in the Berne Convention, but they are not otherwise the subject of any international treaty or legislation.
The blood sport of badger-baiting was outlawed in the United Kingdom by the Cruelty to Animals Act 1835 as well as the Protection of Badgers Act 1992 which makes it a serious offence to kill, injure or take a badger, or to damage or interfere with a sett unless a licence is obtained from a statutory authority. An exemption that allowed fox hunters to loosely block setts to prevent chased foxes escaping into them was brought to an end with the passage of the Hunting Act 2004.
Many badgers in Europe were gassed during the 1960s and 1970s to control rabies. Until the 1980s, gassing was also practised in the UK to control the spread of bovine TB.
A Scandinavian custom is to put eggshells or styrofoam in one’s boots when walking through badger territory, as badgers are believed to bite down until they can hear a crunch. The dachshund dog breed has a history with badgers; “dachs” is the German word for badger, and dachshunds were originally bred to be badger hounds.
As food
Although rarely eaten today in the United States or the United Kingdom,[15] badger was once one of the main meat sources in the diets of Native Americans and white colonists. Badgers were also eaten in Britain during World War II and the 1950s.
In Russia, the consumption of badger meat is still widespread. Badger, along with dog and pork, shish kebabs are cited as a major source of trichinellosis outbreaks in the Altai region of Russia. Consumption of badger meat also occurs in other European countries such as Croatia, where it is used in a variation of the traditional dish of goulash.[22] In contrast to Russia, there are no reports of trichinellosis related to the consumption of badger meat. This is credited to adequate preparation of the meat and good thermal processing of it.
In France, badger meat was used in the preparation of several dishes, such as Blarieur au sang and it was a relatively common ingredient in countryside cuisine.[23] Badger meat was eaten in some parts of Spain until recently as well.[24]
Badger remains a source of food in China, and the meat is freely available in market places. Other Asian countries also have traditions of consuming badger meat. In Japan, it is mentioned in folktales where it is regarded as a food for the humble.[27]
