Badger

Badgers are small mammals in Yellowstone National Park.

NPS

 

Badger tracks

Scientific Name

Taxidea taxus

Identification

• 22–28 inches long, 13–25 pounds.
• Short and stout; adapted to digging.
• Light body with dark stripe down back and darker feet. Broad head forms a wedge. Sides of face are white with black patches, white stripe from nose extends towards back.

Habitat

• Prefers open areas like grasslands.
• Adapted to eat ground squirrels, pocket gophers, and other small rodents; will also eat ground-nesting birds and their eggs. Average badger needs to eat about two ground squirrels or pocket gophers a day to maintain its weight. Digs burrows in pursuit of prey.
• Adults preyed on by mountain lions, bears, and wolves. Coyotes and eagles will prey on young.

Behavior

• Mostly solitary except in mating season (summer and early fall). Have delayed implantation; active gestation starts around February.
• Excavated dens are used for daytime resting sites, food storage, and giving birth. Typically have one entrance, marked by a mound of soil. May be inactive in their dens for up to a month in winter, but they are not true hibernators.
• Mostly active at night. May live up to 14 years.