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Badger
(Taxidea taxus)
The handsome and somewhat portly Badger is one of the
largest members of the weasel family. It is widespread
and common in North America, as long as there is suitable
Habitat. Badgers live in open forested areas, or rangeland.
In British Columbia, these habitats have been seriously
reduced in the era of European settlement, and as a result
the Badger is a rare mammal in this province. Fewer than
1,000 Badgers remain here, and they are restricted to
the Okanagan Valley, north to Kamloops, and the East Kootenay
region.
Badgers spend much of their lives in burrows, which they
dig with powerful forepaws and long claws. A female's
maternity burrow complex is likely to include a split
main tunnel, so two animals can pass, separate chambers
for disposal of faeces, and a grass-lined bedding chamber.
Badger litters average about two young, and are usually
born in April. Like some other weasels, the Badger's reproductive
system delays the implantation of the eggs in the uterus.
The young are independent after about three months of
their mother's care, and at this time they disperse to
new territory. This movement may be as much as 100 kilometers,
and is a time of high mortality in the young animals.
Badgers are taken by Coyotes and Golden Eagles, but in
an increasingly human environment, many are killed by
cars and vermin poisons. If a young Badger escapes these
threats, it must hunt efficiently to keep itself alive.
Their diet is mostly small mammals, including a high percentage
of fossorial species, or those that live in burrows.
In British Columbia, the decline of the Badger has in
turn had a direct impact on the Burrowing Owl, which often
nests in abandoned Badger burrows. Both species are on
the province's Red List, indicating extreme vulnerability
to extirpation.
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