Basic misconceptions and interesting facts about badgers

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In this article we will talk about an ordinary badger that lives in our area, although about a dozen different species and subspecies of these animals are known all over the world. All types of badgers have a similar appearance: a stocky large body, coarse dense gray-brown hair with black and white stripes on the muzzle, often long blunt claws on the paws (for burrowing). Note that the most common are 3 types of badgers:

  • Common badger – lives in most of Europe and Asia.
  • Japanese badger – lives only in Japan on the islands of Honshu, Kyushu, Shikoku and Shodoshima.
  • American badger – distributed in North America in Mexico, the United States and Canada.

So, this very cute animal for a long time in the descriptions of naturalists looked like a clumsy, gloomy animal that lives alone in holes.

At present, there is every reason to disagree with this point of view. And badgers should thank Ernest Neal, a school teacher from England, for creating their “positive image”. For three years he studied the life of this animal. During this time, 290 times Ernest sat at badger holes from morning to night.

Interesting fact

Badgers live in deep burrows, which they dig along the slopes of sandy hills, forest ravines and gullies. Animals from generation to generation stick to their favorite places. As special geochronological studies have shown, some of the badger towns are several thousand years old.

Solitary badgers dig simple burrows, with one entrance and a nesting chamber. But the old badger settlements are a complex multi-tiered underground structure with several (up to 40–50) inlets and ventilation holes and long (5–10 meters) tunnels leading to 2–3 extensive nesting chambers lined with dry litter, located at a depth of up to 5 meters.

The teacher was surprised to find that many of their holes were connected by heavily trampled paths. In addition, he found paths leading to playgrounds and clearings for outdoor recreation.

So, badgers love not only to play on special playgrounds, but also often visit each other! Ernest Neal was convinced that the badger is a sociable, cheerful, mobile mammal, a lover of games and fun.

It is curious that in the late evening before hunting, older badgers always “warm up”, doing something like exercise. At a frantic pace, the animal chases an invisible partner in a circle, periodically jumping up and down and uttering cries of pleasure. But it is even more interesting to watch the fun of young badgers, who play catch-up for hours, roll on the ground and fight, hugging each other.

Ernest Neal also noticed that when an old animal going hunting meets a neighbor's hole, he will definitely come to visit. Naturally, captivated by old ideas about the badger, Neil expected these visits to end in quarrels or fights. Nothing like this. It turns out that the neighbors not only do not shy away from each other, as was previously thought, but on the contrary, they love to communicate with their own kind and live in great friendship.

Interesting fact

The badger is not aggressive towards predators and humans, he prefers to move away and hide in a hole or to another place, but if he gets angry, he hits his nose and bites the offender, and then runs away.

Basic misconceptions and interesting facts about badgers

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Ernest Neal managed to refute the rumors that badgers are especially cautious and shy. Moreover, these observations were confirmed by other researchers. Some of them reported that they found these creatures so soundly asleep in the sun that even the steps of a person who approached could not wake them.

Probably, earlier the badgers had more enemies and then they were more careful. Now, animals, except for humans, have no one to be afraid of.

It also turned out that the badger is nocturnal, and he rests during the day. But this rule is not without exceptions. Naturalists report that they often had to meet some daredevils in the morning, and before sunset, and even on a clear day.

Interesting fact

The badger is the only representative of the mustelids that hibernates for the winter. In the northern regions, the badger already hibernates in October-November until March-April; in the southern regions, where winters are mild and short, it is active all year round.

The common badger (or European badger, also known as the Eurasian badger) inhabits almost all of Europe (except for the northern regions of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Finland), the Caucasus and Transcaucasia, Asia Minor and part of Asia Minor. It is divided into 3 subspecies:

  • European badger – all populations of Europe and the European part of Russia belong to this subspecies (east to the Volga)
  • Asian badger – this subspecies inhabits the territory of Russia (from the Volga to South Siberia), Central Asia, Mongolia, China and the Korean Peninsula
  • Norwegian badger – this subspecies inhabits the southwestern part of Norway

Basic misconceptions and interesting facts about badgers

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The badger has a wide range of vocalizations. So, while searching for food, he sniffles and purrs. Badgers during the game, females during mating, and also in case of danger, the badger makes sounds similar to chirping or barking. When frightened, the badger screams loudly. During sleep, the badger sometimes snores. In addition to the above sounds, badgers can squeak, hiss, howl and growl.

And finally, we note that badgers destroy various slugs, caterpillars and insect larvae, mouse-like rodents and other pests of the forest. In addition, they loosen the soil. Therefore, for the forest they are very useful animals.