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Eurasian badger

Meles meles

MammalThe Eurasian badger is…

Taxonomy

Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Mammal
Family
Mustelidae
Genus
Meles

Habitat

desert, savanna, grassland, chaparral, mountains, marsh

Diet

Eurasian badgers are omnivores that primarily eat earthworms, insects, small mammals like voles, and plant matter such as fruits and roots. They forage nocturnally by digging and rooting in the soil, often spending hours searching for food in their territories.

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 Eurasian badger is classified as Least Concern by the IUCN, with stable populations across much of its range in Europe and Asia, though it faces threats from habitat loss, road traffic accidents, and culling in some areas.

Subspecies (8)