How a badger lives and what benefits it brings to humans. European badger: what it looks like, where it lives and what it eats What a badger looks like

Common badger or badger (lat. Meles meles) - despite the simple name, very interesting and unusual smart creature. This beast of prey from the mustelid family, it is widespread throughout Europe and Asia, except for the too cold northern regions of Finland and Scandinavia.

The very way it builds holes speaks of the intelligence of this cautious and agile creature. Since badgers live as whole families in the same place for many years, leaving their home as a “legacy” to their descendants, they build entire settlements with complex labyrinths, passages and spacious dry “rooms.”

Their nesting chambers-bedrooms, sometimes located on several floors, are clean and well-equipped. They even have ventilation and several emergency exits. In addition to the main holes, badgers also have spare holes, which are made a little simpler and serve as shelter from predators. Not far from the home, the animal builds a kind of latrine, digging a hole and carefully cleaning up after itself.

Of course, you don’t want to leave such mansions, so badgers live in them for decades, or even longer. Recent geochronic studies have shown that some of these multi-tiered underground structures are several thousand (!) years old.

The badger’s body seems to be specially created for construction. Muscular, dense, squat, with a pointed head that smoothly turns into a 60-90-centimeter body, this living forest excavator is perfectly suited for working underground.

flickr/Elliott Neep

Its legs are short, its paws are strong, flat-footed with large and strong, slightly curved claws. The length of the tail is about 24 cm. The badger's fur is coarse, the color is brownish-gray, the belly is almost black, and on the wedge-shaped muzzle there are two dark stripes running from the nose to the ears.

It is impossible to see a badger during the day, as it prefers to lead a nocturnal lifestyle. Unless at dawn or late in the evening it may accidentally appear in the eyes of a nature lover.

The badger, like the badger, eats everything it can chew. But most of all he loves worms, frogs and snails. In addition, he happily eats berries, small rodents, lizards, mushrooms, nuts and grass. On occasion, it destroys bird nests or feasts on insect larvae.

With such a diet, he does not face hunger, so by the end of autumn this 24-kilogram animal has a dozen extra pounds, with which he hibernates. The badger sleeps lightly, and its body temperature does not decrease. In addition, in warm areas With short winters He doesn't go to bed at all.

Badgers are monogamous; pairs form in the fall, but mating occurs at different times. Since pregnancy has a long latent stage, its duration varies from 270 to 450 days. In one litter, from two to six blind badgers are born.

Their mother literally a few days later, just in case, gets pregnant again. The babies open their eyes on the 35th day, and after another two months they feed on their own. In the fall, badger children begin to live separately.

It is curious that parents carefully monitor not only the safety of their brood, but also the cleanliness of the “children’s” rooms. At night, they send the little ones out for a walk, and they quickly pull out the old grass and ferns outside and replace them with fresh ones, amusingly pushing tufts of greenery inside, backing away and holding them in their front paws.

Just like its closest relative, the badger marks its territory with an odorous secretion, which is secreted by a special gland located under the tail of the animal. By this smell, the animals recognize each other and find their way home.

The badger is a large representative of the mustelid family (Mustelidae). His English name badger comes from the French becbeur, which means “digger.”

Badgers are found in Africa, Eurasia and North America. They descended from a marten-like ancestral form that inhabited tropical forests Asia. Species such as teledu, Malayans and ferrets still inhabit this region today.

Common badgers are more widespread. They live over a vast area stretching from Ireland to Japan, including the Mediterranean islands arid climate, northern forests Scandinavia, as well as the semi-deserts of Israel and Jordan. They are most numerous in areas of mosaically scattered forests and pastures; They try to avoid large forest areas. This species is also found in the outskirts of cities, city parks and gardens.

In Russia, the badger lives almost everywhere. Ural mountains; It is absent only in the far north and in areas with very dry terrain.

In total, there are 10 species of badgers in 6 genera. Let's get to know them better.

Badger subfamily (Melinae)

This subfamily includes 8 species in 4 genera.

The common badger (Meles meles) is found in the forests and steppes of Europe, in Asia south to Palestine and Iran, east to eastern China, Korea, and Japan. The color is gray-black above, gray below. It is distinguished by alternating white and black stripes on its face. A black stripe runs from the nose to the ear on each side.

The Javanese (Mydaus javanensis) lives in Borneo, Java, and Sumatra. The color is dark brown or blackish. There is a white stripe or row of white spots on the head and back.

The Palawan (Mydaus marchei) lives in the grassy plains and farmlands of the islands of Palawan and Busuanga. The color on top is dark brown to black, the muzzle is white with a yellowish tint, and a yellowish stripe runs down the back.

Teledu (Arctonyx collaris) lives in the forest zone of China and Indochina, as well as in Sumatra and Thailand. The back is yellow, gray or blackish, the ears and tail are white, the belly and limbs are black; dark stripes on the muzzle extend through the eyes.

Ferret badgers

4 species of the genus Melogale: Burmese (India, Nepal), eastern ( South East Asia, Java, Bali), Chinese (China, Taiwan, Burma), Everett ferret badger (Borneo).

Subfamily Honeyeaters Mellivorinae

The honey badger (Mellivora capensis) is the only representative of the genus. Lives in savannas and dense forests of Africa. The upper part from head to tail is white, often mixed with gray or brown. The sides, underbody and limbs are black.

Subfamily Taxidienae

The American badger (Taxidea taxus) is the only species of the genus. Found from southeastern Canada and the north central United States to Mexico in the south. It is easily recognized by its reddish-gray fur on its back and white stripe on its face.

The body length of these animals ranges from 32 cm (Palawan, ferret) to almost 1 meter (common). They weigh, depending on the type, from 2 to 24 kilograms. The body of the animals is massive, squat; in shape it resembles a heavy drop, gradually expanding from the muzzle to the tail. With other members of the family (mink, weasel) during appearance They are related only by their short legs.

The fur of the animals is long and thick, but rough. The muzzle of all species is colored in a unique way: from clearly defined stripes in the common badger to the characteristic mask in ferrets.

The common, American and Malayan species are perfectly adapted to burrowing. They have a dense body, short limbs, well-developed muscles and powerful claws. The Javan species has fused toes on the front feet, which is probably a special adaptation for digging. Taxidea taxus are such excellent diggers that in case of danger they can dig an escape shelter and disappear from the enemy’s sight in just a couple of minutes. In contrast, primitive ferret badgers more closely resemble martens.

Lifestyle in nature

The badger is active at dusk and at night; during daylight hours it can be seen very rarely.

Most species are characterized by a solitary lifestyle. Only Meles meles prefer to live in families. On common territory up to 20-25 individuals can live in one or several common burrows. Interesting distinctive feature animals is the lack of a stable social hierarchy between adults.

Reasons why common badgers live in groups, not entirely clear. This may be due to weather conditions and feed availability, since this is typical only for areas with temperate climate and enough high level precipitation. In places where food resources are limited and the climate is arid, animals prefer to live in pairs over a large area of ​​4-5 km2, or lead a solitary lifestyle. Solitary birds often roam in the summer and appear near their burrows only in the fall.

Badger holes (fortifications)

All types of badgers live in burrows. The construction and improvement of burrows, which are also called towns or fortifications, is a particularly important part in the life of these animals.

The burrows of common badgers have the most complex structure. These are grandiose, multi-tiered structures with complex labyrinths. They are erected, completed, repaired. A family inhabits one settlement year after year, and it is passed on from generation to generation. It is known that some towns have been used by animals for hundreds of years.

The largest of the burrows examined was 879 meters of tunnels and had 129 exits. The construction of this structure was carried out by many generations of animals and required the removal of 62 tons of soil!

They prefer to dig burrows in dry sandy and sandy loam soils with a deep burial level groundwater. Proximity settlements They are not afraid, as long as the home is in a secluded place.

These animals are very attached to their home; in their homeliness, they are somewhat akin to beavers. Both in the hole and in the surrounding area, they are always clean and tidy, unlike, for example, foxes and raccoon dogs. The animals line the bottom of the chamber with dry leaves and grass; even in winter they always have a supply of dry bedding. They set up latrines outside the fort. Such a diligent attitude towards the condition of their home is not surprising, because they spend most of their lives at home.

Diet

Badgers are omnivores. They eat a variety of insects and other invertebrates, chicks and bird eggs, frogs and lizards, as well as fruits and tubers. In search of food, our heroes spend most of their time rummaging in the ground and in the forest floor.

Common badgers living in the British Isles are nicknamed "worm specialists" because their main diet consists of earthworms. One individual can eat several hundred worms per night. In other places, animals eat a more varied diet. Thus, the menu of animals from southern Spain includes rabbits, and in Italy, in addition to insects, they eat olives.

Thanks to its long claws and thick skin, the common badger even attacks hedgehogs!

Among all species, only American ones are highly specialized predators. Their diet consists of burrowing rodents (prairie dogs, gophers, gophers). If there is enough food, badgers sometimes hunt with coyotes. Such a partnership is beneficial to both species.

Do badgers hibernate?

In areas with a temperate climate, food is scarce in winter, so animals store fat in the fall. In cold times they survive only thanks to these reserves. American badgers hibernate during the coldest times of winter and may not emerge from their burrows to the surface for two months.

As for ordinary animals, animals living in hibernation northern regions. Inhabiting southern territories individuals are active all year round, although their activity may decrease and they do not leave their burrows for several days or even weeks.

In the northern regions of Russia, badgers settle down for the winter in the second half of October, and wake up in mid-April. Their sleep is shallow. Sometimes, when disturbed, or during the winter thaw, they wake up and come out of their burrows.

Features of reproduction

Due to the way groups are formed, almost all of their members are close relatives. Therefore, during the breeding season, many individuals go to neighboring areas in search of partners.

An interesting feature of common badgers is their unusual reproductive cycle with delayed implantation. Whenever mating occurs, the development of fertilized eggs is delayed until mid-winter. Thus, pregnancy can last from 270 to 450 days, and badger cubs are born in February, March or April.

A similar system is typical for American badgers. Since pregnancy occurs in the middle of winter, when the animals are inactive or hibernating, both mother and developing fetus exist only due to accumulated fat. Apparently, this is why newborn babies are very small relative to the size of the mother.

The babies open their eyes only at the beginning of the second month of life, after another month they begin to leave the hole, and at three months they begin to feed on their own. With the onset of autumn, young badgers separate from the adults and leave their home.

Enemies

Our hero has few enemies. In addition to the sharp unpleasant odor, the animals are known for their remarkable strength and ferocity, which they immediately demonstrate if threatened. There are known cases of dogs dying during burrow hunting after a fight with a badger. And yet, animals often become prey to other predators. So, leopards hunt on teleda. IN Russian forests The animals are threatened by wolves and lynxes.

But the main enemy of this beast is a person who is interested in badger fat (he is credited with miraculous medicinal properties), and, to a lesser extent, fur (it has no particular value).

Badger meat proper preparation It is quite edible, but hunters do not often use it for food.

Conservation in nature

Population numbers are greatly affected by loss of original habitats, human persecution, and destruction of burrows and underground storage areas. But even with the extermination of these animals as pests or carriers of infectious diseases, the population remains high. Of all the species, only two - the Palawan badger and the Everett ferret badger - are truly threatened.

Javan ferret badgers and several endemic subspecies are suffering from habitat destruction due to deforestation. Other species also conflict with humans. So, the number American species has decreased significantly due to the destruction of rodents, which constitute their main prey. Common ones are undesirable neighbors for farmers, since they are considered carriers of bovine tuberculosis.

An increase in the number of these mammals is observed in places where they have long been taken under protection. The fact that common badgers thrive in environments severely altered by agriculture and urbanization suggests that the animals have become adept at adapting to changing environmental conditions.

The lifespan of badgers in nature is up to 10-12 years; in captivity, animals are known that lived up to 25 years.

Area: Europe - northern Karelia, Siberia (up to Surgut), Caucasus, Transcaucasia, Crimea, Central, Central and Eastern Asia, Far East(reaches north to Nikolaevsk-on-Amur); not found on Sakhalin.

Description: The badger is one of the largest representatives of the mustelid family. The body is dense and awkward, wide at the back. The head is elongated, with small eyes and short rounded ears. At the base of the tail there are anal glands that secrete a liquid with a pungent odor. The paws are short and strong, armed with strong, slightly curved claws adapted for digging. The soles of the paws are bare. The body and tail are covered with coarse, bristly and long (on the back up to 7-8 cm) guard hairs, which cover a shorter and finer undercoat. The hair on the head and paws is much shorter. Shedding occurs slowly throughout the summer: the undercoat falls out in April-May, the guard hairs fall out in June-July, and in August the shedding of the old coat ends and a new guard hair begins to grow.
The flattened chewing surfaces of the posterior molars are adapted to grinding plant foods. Males are larger than females.

Color: Animals in different areas vary greatly, general signs- grayish-brown fur on the back, darker along the ridge and lighter ripples on the sides. On the head there is a dark stripe running from the nose through the eye, covering the ear or touching its upper edge. The forehead and cheeks are white, yellowish or brown. The color of summer fur is darker and redder than winter fur. Young animals are more pale in color.

Size: up to 90 cm, tail length about 20 cm.

Weight: badgers of the European part killed in the fall, fluctuates within 20 kg.

Lifespan: in nature up to 10-12, in captivity up to 16 years. In the 1st year of life, mortality among young animals is up to 50%.

In an irritated state, the badger's voice is a short and abrupt grunt; while searching for food, the animal sniffles loudly.

Habitat: middle forest belt, forest-steppe and mountains. Prefers dry areas overgrown with small forests, dense bushes and grass. Loves forest edges and overgrown ravines with slopes. It rises into the mountains up to 2000 m above sea level, where it settles in rock cracks and screes.

Enemies: main - human, competes with fox and raccoon dog for food.

Food: the badger is an omnivore; its diet includes mouse-like rodents, birds, reptiles, frogs, insects and their larvae, fruits, berries, etc. The composition of the diet varies depending on the season, annual change of feed, weather conditions, population size and density.

Behavior: The badger makes burrows in dry areas of the forest with light soil and a deep level of groundwater. In some cases, it settles near human habitation.
The burrows in which the badger lives vary in size and complexity of structure. This can be a whole labyrinth of wide and deep passages with numerous exits, holes, dead ends and nesting chambers, or a simple hole with one entrance and a tunnel going deep into the earth with one nesting chamber. The badger keeps its burrows clean.
The openings of badger holes have a semicircular shape (height 25, width about 40 cm). Near such holes you can see heaps of discarded earth. Except regular holes, the badger also digs holes from inside the hole, most likely serving for ventilation. Fat trails extend from the residential badger burrow, and latrines are located at some distance from the burrows.
IN winter months(from November, for 5-7 months) the badger goes into winter sleep, while its body temperature drops to 34.5 "C. In the warm season, it occasionally goes out to bask in the sun.
Badgers spend a significant part of their lives underground.
In a calm state, it moves at a slow jog, waddles, and when frightened, it can run quickly (trot). Swims well. The badger has a well-developed sense of smell and hearing, but weaker vision. The length of the front paw print of an adult animal is about 8 cm (2.5 cm of which is on the claws), the hind paw print is up to 9 cm.
Badger feces are small, dark-colored oblong ridges.

Social structure: The size of an individual plot is up to 525 hectares.
The badger population consists of approximately 73% adults and 27% juveniles. The sex ratio among young animals is 1:1; over the years, the proportion of females increases.

Reproduction: monogamous, pairs form in the fall, and mating and fertilization occur at different times. Pregnancy has a long latent stage.
During the breeding season, the sub-tail gland begins to function intensively, which, with its secretion, colors the fur under the tail in a bright yellow color.
Mating can occur both in the burrow and outside it. After a long mating, the male climbs into a small body of water and, spread out, remains in it for a long time.

Breeding season/period: second half of summer - end of July - August.

Puberty: females at 2 years, males at 3 years.

Pregnancy: during summer mating, pregnancy lasts 271-284 days, during early spring - up to 365 days, during winter - 420-450 days.

Offspring: in March, the female gives birth to 2-6 helpless blind puppies. Newborns weigh 70-80 grams. At the age of 3 weeks, their ears develop, at 35-42 days their eyes open, and their teeth begin to grow only at the age of one month. At 2.5 months, badger cubs already experience growth permanent teeth. Puppies begin to feed on their own at three months.
A slight decrease in growth intensity is observed in young animals 4-6 months old, this is due to the accumulation of fat reserves. During their first hibernation, badger pups remain in the hole with their mother.

Benefit/harm for humans: destroys the nests of birds nesting on the ground. In the south of the range it spoils melons and vineyards. It brings benefits by eating harmful insects and mouse-like rodents.
The badger is intensively hunted, not only for its skin, but also for its fat and meat.
Badger fat is especially valued, used in folk medicine. Brushes are made from the bristly hair of a badger (for example, for shaving). The skin of a badger is not of great value, although it is beautiful.

Population/Conservation Status: in the past, the number of badgers has been steadily declining, currently in many countries of Europe and former USSR a law was passed to protect it. Now the population of the species is gradually recovering.
Many animals die from poisoning with pesticides, die on the roads, from hunters, and various infectious diseases.

Badger subspecies ( Meles meles):
M.m. meles (Western Europe) European badger is the largest of all subspecies, the length of the skull is 10.9-12.6 cm. There are four false-rooted teeth in each jaw,
M.m. marianensis(Spain and Portugal),
M.m. leucurus(Russia, Tibet, China, Japan) Asian badger - close in size to the European subspecies, but somewhat smaller. The length of the skull is 10.2-11.6 cm. The first false roots are absent, there are only three of them in each jaw,
M.m. anaguma(Japan) the Far Eastern badger is the smallest, skull length 9.2-10.5 cm. The first false roots are absent,
M.m. canescens The Central Asian badger is much smaller in size. The length of the skull is 9.7-11.2 cm. According to the features of the skull, it is close to the European subspecies.

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Many animals living in the temperate and cold zones of the Northern and Southern hemispheres, tend to hibernate. Since childhood, we have known from fairy tales such a character as a bear spending time in a den, sucking its paw, best time of your life. What animals hibernate in winter? How long can it last? Does a badger hibernate? Find out about this and much more from our article.

Tens of thousands

In fact, quite a lot of representatives of the animal world fall into this state (in its different variations), if we also take insects into account. By carefully counting, there are tens of thousands of them, so just listing them would take many pages.

What animals hibernate in winter? Some warm-blooded mammals do this. Hedgehogs, bears, marmots, dormouse, gophers, bats, for example. Of the birds - the Californian nightjar. Cold-blooded animals include many fish, reptiles and amphibians.

Badger

This predator is a representative of the mustelid family (which also includes minks, martens, ferrets, otters). This is a fairly large animal. Body weight reaches over 20 kilograms, length - up to a meter, tail - over 20 centimeters. It has a thick wedge-shaped body. The muzzle is narrow, elongated, with characteristic longitudinal stripes. Neck and When walking, the animal stands on its entire foot, which gives it a characteristic clubfoot gait. Nature endowed the badger with powerful claws adapted for digging the ground.

Where does he live?

He lives in mixed forests, taiga and mountainous areas. As a rule, near bodies of water where there is a good food supply, but in dry, well-drained areas.

The badger digs deep holes, entire branched cities. Research has shown that these members of the mustelid family often live in the same places for generations. Some old burrows are over a thousand years old. These are complex structures with various tunnels, entrances and exits. There are also several chambers with dry bedding for nests. And they are located at a depth of up to five meters.

Does a badger hibernate?

Around November-December, if the winter promises to be cold, the animal goes into hibernation. But before this, the badger feeds intensively. His weight can increase to 35 kilograms. The badger is an omnivore, although it is classified as a predator. It eats insects, worms, frogs, small mouse-like rodents, mollusks, lizards, as well as mushrooms and berries, nuts and grass. When hunting, a badger covers vast territories, catching up to 50 frogs in one night, large number worms and insects (pupae, larvae). During fat accumulation, he can eat up to a kilogram of food per night.

Does a badger hibernate? He is the only one who does this from mustelids, and even then not every winter. In northern areas, hibernation begins in November and continues until April. In the southern regions - especially if the winter is warm - the badger is active all year round and does not sleep. It has a remarkable ability of the body to accumulate subcutaneous fat. Sometimes the layer of fat can reach four or even five centimeters. The weight almost doubles. With the onset of cold weather, these animals dig into spacious burrows and leave the nest less and less often. Then they fill the entrances with earth and dry leaves and fall asleep until spring.

Thus, the answer to the question: “Does a badger hibernate?” ambiguous. If the winter is warmer than usual, this may not happen. And then the badger still comes out of the hole in search of food. Perhaps not as often as in the fall.

A little about the benefits of badger

This animal brings great benefits to agriculture, eating various insect pests (including the notorious May beetle).

The badger has very healing fat, which is used in the treatment of certain diseases, in particular tuberculosis.

Meat and fur are not particularly valuable. Sometimes the latter is used to produce artistic brushes and hats.

Hibernation

The badger is not the only mammal to hibernate. Many people think that animals sleep in winter to wait out the cold. But this is only partly true. Cold-blooded animals, indeed, cannot maintain the required body temperature with the onset of cold weather (after all, for active existence they need heat from outside). And as soon as the ambient temperature drops to a certain point, they hibernate.

It’s different with representatives of warm-blooded animals. If it depended only on a decrease in temperature, then polar bear would hibernate in winter, but he does not do this, remaining active. But the brown one also has the same amount of fat and a warm fur coat so as not to freeze. However, it sleeps in winter. Here, rather, it’s all about the temporary lack of food supply. In winter, there is no vegetation, no frogs, no small birds and rodents, which these animals usually feed on. There are two options left: move to a more warm regions or go into hibernation.

In winter, rodents also sleep: marmots, hamsters, gophers, and dormouse. By the way, by the way - sooner or later - the marmot and badgers hibernated, people determine how severe the winter will be.

Badger (Meles meles L., 1758) – average size beast, by appearance is not at all similar to its brothers from the mustelidae family.

Description

Description

Its body is wedge-shaped: the wide rear part gradually tapers towards the head. The short, thick neck extends into a small and narrow head. The ears are small and round. The legs are short, strong and muscular with bare feet and long and strong claws. The tail is short, approximately equal to the length of the head.
The body length is 60-80cm, the tail is 15-20cm. The weight of an adult animal varies throughout the year, increasing from spring to autumn. In the spring it is approximately 10 kg, and before the animal leaves for the winter it already reaches 30 kg.
In general, his appearance is massive and squat.

The badger usually moves slowly and sluggishly, with its head down, but in case of danger it can quickly run in leaps and bounds.

The winter fur on the back and sides is tall and coarse, consisting mainly of coarse, hard awns and small quantity soft fluff. The belly is covered with short and sparse hair. The tail is quite bushy.

The overall color of the badger's fur is beautiful. The back and sides are light silver-gray with a touch of black ripples. This coloring is due to the zoned coloring of the guard hairs: the main part of the hair is dirty-whitish-fawn, then there is a black belt, and the top is white or grayish-white.
The throat, neck, chest and legs are black. The main part of the abdomen is black with a brown tint, the inguinal region is grayish-brown. The tail is colored, as is the back.
The head is white, with two black stripes clearly visible on it, running from the tip of the nose through the eyes, covering the ears and gradually dissolving with the main color in the neck area.

Summer fur is much lower, thinner and coarser than winter fur, and the color appears dirty, brownish and yellowish.

A badger molts once a year. Starting in the spring, it lasts all summer and ends only in late autumn.
Badgers have well-defined individual variability in color; therefore, they are divided into two types: light and dark.

Spreading

The habitat of the animal is quite extensive and occupies approximately half of our country. It inhabits forests, forest-steppes, steppes, deserts and mountains. It is absent only in the tundra and in the northeastern part of Siberia.

The breadth of geographic distribution influenced the racial variability of the species. In our country, the following subspecies are distinguished: Central Russian (European) badger, Caspian, Siberian, Kazakhstan and Amur.

IN middle lane The badger lives in mixed forests, sticking mainly to edges, copses and ravines. The most favorable habitats are considered to be mixed island forests, alternating with fields and meadows. In the Deaf coniferous forests the beast also settles, but much less often and in this case it sticks to the outskirts. He avoids such places due to their lack of food.

When assessing the suitability of land for an animal, it is necessary to take into account the three most important factors: presence of forest or bushes, favorable conditions for burrowing and proximity to water.
The forest is necessary for him as a refuge, a source of food, and also as an environment necessary for life.

Biology

It leads a semi-underground lifestyle, so an important requirement is the availability of places for making burrows.
When arranging a hole, the animal chooses places near various bodies of water, and tries to make it so that it can be approached secretly.

There is little data on the size of its habitat. Most likely, it is quite extensive, but it is most active within a radius of up to half a kilometer from the burrow.
If the land is abundant in food, families of badgers can live in close proximity to each other.

They prefer to dig burrows on the slopes of ravines and river terraces. The soil should be dry sandy or sandy loam, easy to dig with deep groundwater.
The animal always digs its own shelter; other animals often use its labors, for example, raccoon dog, less often a wolf.

A badger's hole is the whole system underground labyrinths with a large number exits. Entire generations of animals live in these settlements for decades. All this time, the network of passages is expanding and being updated: new exits, holes and chambers are being dug.
Such old branched burrows were called “fortifications”.

The exits usually have an arched shape with a length of 4 to 10 m, the nesting chamber is located at a depth of at least 1 m from the surface. The chamber is provided with a bedding of leaves and grass.
Most work on arranging burrows takes place in late summer and early autumn.

The beast refers to omnivorous predators, his diet is varied. Its diet contains both plant and animal food. The predominance of one or the other depends on the habitat and time of year.
The badger's food consists of mouse-like rodents (voles), small birds, amphibians (frogs), reptiles (lizards), insects and their larvae, and earthworms. Plant foods include roots, bulbs and green parts of some plants, as well as nuts, berries, and fruits. Agricultural crops eaten include corn and oats.

Lead by a predator twilight night image life, only in remote places can it sometimes go out during the day, but does not go far from the shelter

The exit of the animal from the hole quite clearly coincides with the onset of twilight - a little after sunset.
Of the sense organs, his sense of smell is best developed. Vision and hearing are mediocre.

Its life is mostly connected with the hole; this is natural for an animal leading a semi-subterranean lifestyle. In addition, he spends several months of the year constantly in the hole.
By autumn, the animal becomes very fat, subcutaneous fat reaches 4-5 cm in thickness, and its weight almost doubles.

Badger fat has unique healing properties You can read what its benefits are in this.

With the arrival of cold weather in September-October, the badger stops leaving its hole and plunges into winter sleep, having previously blocked all the exits with leaves and earth.
In winter, in the northern regions, it does not leave it from October to May, and in the south it can go into sleep only during the cold period.

Winter sleep is not hibernation; the animal's body temperature does not fall below 34 degrees. C. In a thaw, he, like a raccoon dog, can leave the hole

In the spring, the badger leaves the hole when positive temperatures have established and begins cleaning its shelter - preparations for the birth of young begin.

These animals are monogamous, living with the same partner for many years. Mating can take place in different times: in summer, early spring and in autumn. Pregnancy has a latent stage and lasts from 8 to 15 months. The young appear in the spring. There are 2-6 badgers in a litter. They begin to mature in about a month, and teeth erupt at the same time. They begin to emerge from the burrow and feed on their own at three months.
The young begin to settle in the fall, at which time pairs are created.

At dusk, a badger can be detected by the noise it makes when moving. With the onset of darkness, unlike other nocturnal inhabitants, he does not particularly hide.
Other signs of the presence of an animal in the area are the well-trodden paths from the burrow, which the animals use from year to year; they lead hundreds of meters to feeding areas, burrows and watering places. There are also numerous diggings made while searching for food.

Most often he moves with small leisurely steps or jogs.
On wet soil It is easy to detect traces of a badger, which are difficult to confuse with any others. The five-toed paw print is very similar to a miniature footprint.

He has practically no enemies. The only danger can be lynx and dogs. More significant influence The number of animals is influenced by human activity, through the extermination and destruction of “fortifications”.
Competitors can be considered a fox and a raccoon dog.

Meaning and hunting

It is necessary to strictly regulate the prey of the badger; it is small in number and is a very useful animal. Its benefit is that it exterminates harmful rodents, insects and dead animals.
Its fur is not considered valuable, so the value of its skins is low. The main object of the animal's desired prey is badger fat; it, along with bear fat, is very highly valued as a good medicine.

Basic hunting methods:

1. Trapping.
2. Hunting with a dog at dusk.
3. Hiding with a gun near the hole and trails.
4. With burrowing dogs.