How does badgers look like

Badgers are carnivores, chowing down on insects, prairie dogs, mice, ground-dwelling birds, and groundhogs. Superb diggers, these animals will sometimes will cache food for later use and in one remarkable case, even an entire cow. Their fluffy faces and waddle-walk may seem pretty cute, but badgers keep some very tough company.

In some parts of the U. In these short-term alliances, the badger takes advantage of prey driven underground by the coyote, while the coyote benefits from burrowing prey, like ground squirrels, chased above ground by the badger. T his is an example of mutualism , in which animals of different species work together to meet their individual needs.

These nocturnal predators prefer open areas, and sleep in dens during the day. The species is solitary until mating season, which is late summer to early autumn. Their average life-span in the wild is four to five years, and the longevity record for a wild American badger is 14 years.

Females make a special grass-lined natal den, where they give birth to between one to five cubs. American badgers are generally not under threat, but their populations are decreasing, primarily due to habitat loss caused by urban development and agriculture. All rights reserved. Common Name: American badgers. Joseph Wildlife Control St.

Toggle navigation. What Do Badgers Look Like? Identifying Badgers The badger has a body built for digging, with a stocky frame, broad head, stout neck, and short legs. Skunks vs. Badgers Stripe Pattern Also prone to digging in yards, the striped skunk is a badger-like animal that residents may spot outdoors.

Color and Anatomy While skunks usually have black bodies, badgers come in a range of colors, including brown, gray, and silver. Badger Relatives Badger relatives, like otters, weasels, and polecats, may also cause confusion. Claw marks and five toe pads make badger tracks easy to identify. Historical persecution means badgers are now fully protected by law. This has helped the UK population to grow, roughly doubling since the s. However, many badgers are killed by cars and illegal persecution does still occur.

There are also concerns by some that badgers are responsible for spreading bovine tuberculosis to cattle. This has led to badger culls taking place in certain areas. Learn how to track elusive woodland animals with our poos and clues swatch book. Trees and woods provide a stable habitat and food supply for many mammals.

What will you spot? Ever adaptable, the fox sits top of the woodland food chain with a diet that takes in everything from birds and beetles to rabbits and rats. Find out what foxes eat, how they breed and how to spot them.

Sleepy, cute, truly iconic. Find out what they eat, where they live and how to spot them. The flash of a red squirrel leaping from branch to branch is an unforgettable, but increasingly rare sight in UK woods.

Find out all about it, from how it breeds to what it eats. Sleepy, charming, undeniably cute. Find out where hazel dormice live, what they eat and how they breed. Appearance and behaviour Where to find them How to spot them Threats. Quick facts. Common name: badger Scientific name: Meles meles Family: Mustelidae Habitat: broadleaved woodland, farmland, towns and gardens Diet: worms, invertebrates, small mammals, fruit Predators: adults have no predators; cubs sometimes taken by foxes and large birds of prey Origin: native.

Most badgers are omnivores, which means they eat both plants and meat. Typically, though, they mainly consume earthworms and the larvae of daddy long legs, according to the Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust. Some other foods badgers enjoy include slugs, small mammals, snails, bird eggs and fruit.

The honey badger is a carnivore and will eat snakes, jackals, foxes, and even crocodiles, according to BioWeb , a website produced at the University of Wisconsin.

It also eats smaller animals, such as insects and larvae. It will also hunt down beehives to get to the honey, hence its common name and scientific name — Mellivora means "honey eater.

Though badgers mate any time they feel like it, they only have one litter per year due to delayed implantation. Badgers give birth in mid- to late winter between birth to between January and March. One to five babies are born at one time in the underground chambers. Baby badgers, like baby bears, are called cubs.