Taxonomy
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammal
- Family
- Mustelidae
- Genus
- Taxidea
Habitat
desert, savanna, grassland, chaparral, mountains, marsh
Diet
American badgers primarily eat small mammals like ground squirrels, prairie dogs, and pocket gophers, which they hunt by digging into burrows. They also consume insects, earthworms, birds, eggs, and some plant matter such as roots and fruits, often foraging nocturnally to avoid competition.
Behavior
The behaviour 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 called cetes. Cete size is variable from two to fifteen.
Conservation Status
The American badger is classified as Least Concern by the IUCN, with stable populations across much of its range in North America. Major threats include habitat fragmentation from agriculture and urban development, as well as road mortality.