View source for Badger

{{pp-semi-indef|small=yes}}
{{Short description|Short-legged omnivore}}
{{Other uses}}
{{EngvarB|date = May 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2018}}
{{Paraphyletic group
| name              = Badger
| image             = Badger laying on ground. - DPLA - 0335977b4d1504edc799834081ca4fd5.jpg
| image_alt         = refer to caption
| image_caption     = An [[American badger]]
| auto              = yes
| parent            = Musteloidea
| includes          = {{bulleted list
  | genera of family [[Mustelidae]]: {{bulleted list
    | ''[[Arctonyx]]'' (hog badgers)
    | ''[[Meles (genus)|Meles]]'' (Eurasian badgers)
    | ''[[Melogale]]'' (ferret-badgers)
    | ''[[Mellivora]]'' (honey badgers)
    | {{extinct}}''[[Chamitataxus]]'' (extinct North American badgers from the [[Miocene]])
    | {{extinct}}''[[Pliotaxidea]]'' (extinct North American badgers from the [[Pliocene]])
    | ''[[Taxidea]]'' (modern North American badgers)
    }}
  | genera of family [[Mephitidae]]: {{bulleted list
    | ''[[Mydaus]]'' (stink badgers)
    }}
  }}
| range_map         = Badger species map.png
| range_map_caption = Mustelid badger ranges
{{Leftlegend|#ffce00|[[Honey badger]] (''Mellivora capensis'')|size=60%|outline=white}}
{{Leftlegend|#bc000f|[[American badger]] (''Taxidea taxus'')|size=60%|outline=white}}
{{Leftlegend|#008f8f|[[European badger]] (''Meles meles'')|size=60%|outline=white}}
{{Leftlegend|#009800|[[Asian badger]] (''Meles leucurus'')|size=60%|outline=white}}
{{Leftlegend|#84f500|[[Japanese badger]] (''Meles anakuma'')|size=60%|outline=white}}
{{Leftlegend|#0000ff|[[Chinese ferret-badger]] (''Melogale moschata'')|size=60%|outline=white}}
{{Leftlegend|#1200b7|[[Burmese ferret-badger]] (''Melogale personata'')|size=60%|outline=white}}
{{Leftlegend|#1a85f1|[[Javan ferret-badger]] (''Melogale orientalis'')|size=60%|outline=white}}
{{Leftlegend|#8d00c7|[[Bornean ferret-badger]] (''Melogale everetti'')|size=60%|outline=white}}
}}
[[File:Badger-badger.jpg|right|thumb|[[European badger]]]]
'''Badgers''' are medium-sized short-legged [[omnivore]]s in the [[superfamily (taxonomy)|superfamily]] [[Musteloidea]]. Badgers are a [[polyphyletic]] rather than a natural taxonomic grouping, being united by their squat bodies and adaptions for [[fossorial]] activity rather than by their ancestral relationships: Musteloidea contains several families, only two of which (the "weasel family" [[Mustelidae]] and the "skunk family" [[Mephitidae]]) include badgers; moreover, both of these families also include various other animals that are not badgers.

The fifteen [[species]] of mustelid badgers are grouped in four subfamilies: four species of Melinae (genera ''Meles'' and ''Arctonyx'') including the [[European badger]], five species of Helictidinae (genus ''Melogale'') or [[ferret-badger]], the [[honey badger]] or ratel Mellivorinae (genus ''Mellivora''), and the [[American badger]] Taxideinae (genus ''Taxidea''). Badgers include the most [[Basal (phylogenetics)|basal]] mustelids; the American badger is the most basal of all, followed successively by the ratel and the Melinae; the estimated split dates are about 17.8, 15.5 and 14.8&nbsp;million years ago, respectively.<ref name="Law-2018" />

The two species of Asiatic [[stink badger]]s of the genus ''Mydaus'' were formerly included within Melinae (and thus Mustelidae), but more recent genetic evidence indicates these are actually members of the [[skunk]] family (Mephitidae).<ref name = "Goswami2010">{{cite book|author1= Goswami, Anjali  |author2= Friscia, Anthony  |name-list-style=amp | title= Carnivoran Evolution: New Views on Phylogeny, Form and Function| date= 2010| publisher= Cambridge University Press| isbn= 978-0-521-73586-5|page= 30|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=HPw0C2i8QXkC&pg=PA30}}</ref>

Badger [[mandibular condyle]]s connect to long cavities in their skulls, which gives resistance to jaw dislocation and increases their bite grip strength.<ref name="Chisholm 1911, p. 188">{{EB1911 |mode=cs2 |inline=1 |wstitle=Badger |volume=3 |page=188 }}</ref> This in turn limits jaw movement to hinging open and shut, or sliding from side to side, but it does not hamper the twisting movement possible for the jaws of most [[mammal]]s.

Badgers have rather short, wide bodies, with short legs for digging. They have elongated, weasel-like heads with small ears. Their tails vary in length depending on species; the stink badger has a very short tail, while the ferret-badger's tail can be {{convert|46|-|51|cm|in|abbr=on}} long, depending on age. They have black faces with distinctive white markings, grey bodies with a light-coloured stripe from head to tail, and dark legs with light-coloured underbellies. They grow to around {{convert|90|cm|in|abbr=on}} in length, including tail.

The European badger is one of the largest; the American badger, the hog badger, and the honey badger are generally a little smaller and lighter. Stink badgers are smaller still, and ferret-badgers are the smallest of all. They weigh around {{convert|9|-|11|kg|lb|abbr=on}}, while some Eurasian badgers weigh around {{convert|18|kg|lbs|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.badgers.org.uk/badgerpages/| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120205092802/http://www.badgers.org.uk/badgerpages/| archive-date=5 February 2012| title=Badger Pages: Photos of and facts about the badgers of the world | publisher=Badgers.org.uk | access-date=31 December 2011}}</ref>

== Etymology ==
The word "badger", originally applied to the [[European badger]] (''Meles meles''), comes from earlier ''bageard'' (16th century),<ref>[[Charles Talbut Onions|C. T. Onions]], ed., ''[[The Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology]]'' (Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966), 68.</ref> presumably referring to the white mark borne like a badge on its forehead.<ref name="OED">{{cite book |author1=Weiner, E. S. C. |author2=Simpson, J. R. |title=The Oxford English Dictionary |publisher=Clarendon Press |location=Oxford |year=1989 |isbn=978-0-19-861186-8 |access-date=30 August 2008 |url=http://dictionary.oed.com/ |archive-date=25 June 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060625103623/http://dictionary.oed.com/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> Similarly, a now archaic synonym was ''bauson'' 'badger' (1375), a variant of ''bausond'' 'striped, piebald', from Old French ''bausant'', ''baucent'' 'id.'.<ref>''The American Heritage Dictionary'', 4th edn., s.v. "badger" (Houghton Mifflin, 2001).</ref>

The less common name ''brock'' ([[Old English]]: ''brocc''), ([[Scots Language|Scots]]: ''brock'') is a [[Celtic languages|Celtic]] [[loanword]] (cf. [[Goidelic languages|Gaelic]] ''broc'' and [[Welsh language|Welsh]] ''broch'', from [[Proto-Celtic]] ''*brokkos'') meaning "grey".<ref name="OED" /> The [[Proto-Germanic]] term was ''*þahsuz'' (cf. [[German language|German]] ''Dachs'', [[Dutch language|Dutch]] ''das'', [[Norwegian language|Norwegian]] svin''toks''; [[Early Modern English]] ''dasse''), probably from the [[Proto-Indo-European language|PIE]] [[Root (linguistics)|root]] ''*tek'-'' "to construct," so the badger would have been named after its digging of [[sett]]s (tunnels); the Germanic term ''*þahsuz'' became ''taxus'' or ''taxō'', -''ōnis'' in [[Latin]] [[Gloss (annotation)|gloss]]es, replacing ''mēlēs'' ("[[marten]]" or "badger"),<ref>{{cite book | first1=Alfred | last1=Ernout | first2=Antoine | last2=Meillet | author-link2=Antoine Meillet | title=Dictionnaire étimologique de la langue latine | edition=4 | orig-year=1932 | year=1979 | publisher=Klincksieck | location=Paris | language=fr}}</ref> and from these words the common [[Romance languages|Romance]] terms for the animal evolved ([[Italian language|Italian]] ''tasso'', [[French language|French]] ''taisson''—''blaireau'' is now more common—[[Catalan language|Catalan]] ''toixó'', [[Spanish language|Spanish]] ''tejón'', [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] ''texugo'').<ref>{{cite book| first=Giacomo | last=Devoto | author-link=Giacomo Devoto | title=Avviamento all'etimologia italiana | edition=6 | orig-year=1979 | year=1989 | publisher=Mondadori | location=Milano | language=it}}</ref>

A male European badger is a boar, a female is a sow, and a young badger is a cub. However, in North America the young are usually called kits, while the terms male and female are generally used for adults. A collective name suggested for a group of colonial badgers is a cete,<ref>[http://www.hintsandthings.co.uk/kennel/collectives.htm Hints and Things: collective nouns] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130726211851/http://www.hintsandthings.co.uk/kennel/collectives.htm |date=26 July 2013 }} Retrieved 28 June 2010.</ref> but badger colonies are more often called clans. A badger's home is called a sett.<ref name="development">{{Cite web |url=http://www.snh.org.uk/pdfs/publications/wildlife/badger.pdf |title=Scotland's Wildlife: Badgers and Development |access-date=4 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924104416/http://www.snh.org.uk/pdfs/publications/wildlife/badger.pdf |archive-date=24 September 2015 |url-status=dead  }}</ref>{{clear left}}

== Classification ==
{{See also|List of mustelids}}
The following list shows where the various species with the common name of badger are placed in the Mustelidae and Mephitidae classifications. The list is [[polyphyletic]] and the species commonly called badgers do not form a valid [[clade]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Explore the Database|url=https://www.mammaldiversity.org/explore.html|access-date=2021-06-25|website=www.mammaldiversity.org}}</ref>
* '''Family [[Mustelidae]]'''
** '''Subfamily Melinae'''<ref name="Koepfli2008">{{cite journal |last1= Koepfli |first1= K.-P.|title = Multigene phylogeny of the Mustelidae: Resolving relationships, tempo and biogeographic history of a mammalian adaptive radiation |journal= BMC Biology |volume= 6|page= 10|date= February 2008|doi= 10.1186/1741-7007-6-10 |pmid= 18275614 |last2= Deere|first2= K.A.|last3= Slater |first3= G.J.| last4 = Begg|first4= C.|last5= Begg|first5= K.|last6= Grassman |first6= L.|last7= Lucherini |first7= M.|last8= Veron|first8= G.|last9= Wayne |first9= R.K.|pmc= 2276185|doi-access= free}}</ref><ref name = "Yu2011">{{cite journal |last1= Yu|first1= L.|last2= Peng|first2= D.|last3= Liu|first3= J.|last4= Luan|first4= P.|last5= Liang|first5= L.|last6= Lee|first6= H.|last7= Lee|first7= M.|last8= Ryder|first8= O.A.|last9= Zhang|first9= Y.|year= 2011 |title=On the phylogeny of Mustelidae subfamilies: analysis of seventeen nuclear non-coding loci and mitochondrial complete genomes |journal= BMC Evol Biol |volume= 11 |issue= 1 |page= 92 |doi= 10.1186/1471-2148-11-92 |pmid= 21477367|pmc= 3088541|doi-access= free|bibcode= 2011BMCEE..11...92Y}}</ref><ref name="Law-2018">{{Cite journal|last1= Law|first1=C. J.|last2= Slater|first2=G. J.|last3= Mehta|first3=R. S. |date= 2018-01-01 |title=Lineage Diversity and Size Disparity in Musteloidea: Testing Patterns of Adaptive Radiation Using Molecular and Fossil-Based Methods |journal=[[Systematic Biology]] |volume= 67|issue= 1|pages= 127–144|doi= 10.1093/sysbio/syx047|pmid=28472434|doi-access= free}}</ref>
*** '''Genus ''[[Arctonyx]]'''''
**** [[Northern hog badger]], ''Arctonyx albogularis''
****[[Greater hog badger]], ''Arctonyx collaris''
****[[Sumatran hog badger]], ''Arctonyx hoevenii''
*** '''Genus ''[[Meles (genus)|Meles]]'''''
**** [[Japanese badger]], ''Meles anakuma''
**** [[Asian badger]], ''Meles leucurus''
**** [[European badger]], ''Meles meles''
****[[Caucasian badger]], ''Meles canescens''
** '''Subfamily [[Helictidinae]]'''<ref name = "Koepfli2008" /><ref name = "Yu2011" /><ref name="Law-2018" />
*** '''Genus ''[[Melogale]]'''''
**** [[Burmese ferret-badger]], ''Melogale personata''
**** [[Javan ferret-badger]], ''Melogale orientalis''
**** [[Chinese ferret-badger]], ''Melogale moschata''
****[[Formosan ferret-badger]], ''Melogale subaurantiaca''
**** [[Bornean ferret-badger]], ''Melogale everetti''
**** [[Vietnam ferret-badger]], ''Melogale cucphuongensis''
** '''Subfamily [[Mellivorinae]]'''
*** [[Honey badger]], ''Mellivora capensis''
** '''Subfamily [[Taxidiinae]]''':
*** †''[[Chamitataxus avitus]]''
*** †''Pliotaxidea nevadensis''
*** †''Pliotaxidea garberi''
*** [[American badger]], ''Taxidea taxus''
* '''Family [[Mephitidae]]'''
** '''Subfamily [[Mydainae]]'''
*** '''Genus ''[[Mydaus]]'''''
**** Indonesian or [[Sunda stink badger]] (''teledu''), ''Mydaus javanensis''
**** [[Palawan stink badger]], ''Mydaus marchei''

== Distribution ==
Badgers are found in much of [[North America]], [[Great Britain]],<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Sleeman, D.P. |author2=Davenport, J. |author3=Cussen. R.E. |author4=Hammond, R.F. |name-list-style=amp | year=2009| title= The small-bodied badgers (''Meles meles'' (L.) of Rutland Island, Co. Donegal |journal=[[Irish Naturalists' Journal]] |volume=30| pages= 1–6| jstor=20764515}}</ref> [[Ireland]] and most of the rest of Europe as far north as southern [[Scandinavia]].<ref>Brink van den, F.H. (1967). ''A Field Guide to the Mammals of Britain and [[Europe]].'' Collins, London.</ref> They live as far east as [[Japan]], [[Korea]] and [[China]]. The Javan ferret-badger lives in [[Indonesia]],<ref name=iucnA>{{cite iucn |author=Duckworth, J.W. |author2=Shepherd, C. |author3=Rode-Margono, E.J. |author4=Wilianto, E. |author5=Spaan, D. |author6=Abramov, A.V. |date=2016 |title=''Melogale orientalis'' |volume=2016 |page=e.T41697A45218557 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T41697A45218557.en |access-date=12 November 2021}} Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is of data deficient</ref> and the Bornean ferret-badger lives in [[Malaysia]].<ref name=iucnB>{{cite iucn |author=Wilting, A. |author2=Duckworth, J.W. |author3=Hearn, A. |author4=Ross, J. |date=2015 |title=''Melogale everetti'' |volume=2015 |page=e.T13110A45199541 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T13110A45199541.en |access-date=12 November 2021}} Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is of data deficient.</ref> The honey badger is found in most of [[sub-Saharan Africa]], the [[Arabian Desert]], southern [[Levant]], [[Turkmenistan]], [[Pakistan]] and [[India]].<ref name=iucnC>{{cite iucn |author=Do Linh San, E. |author2=Begg, C. |author3=Begg, K. |author4=Abramov, A.V. |date=2016 |title=''Mellivora capensis'' |volume=2016 |page=e.T41629A45210107 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T41629A45210107.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}</ref>

[[File:Meles anakuma 2016 07 10.webm|thumb|thumbtime=7|A [[Japanese badger]] walking around, 2016]]

==Behaviour==
{{expand section|date=August 2016}}
The behaviour of badgers differs by family, but all shelter underground, living in burrows called [[sett]]s, which may be very extensive.  Some are solitary, moving from home to home, while others are known to form clans called cetes.  [[Group size measures|Cete size]] is variable from two to 15.

Badgers can run or [[Gait|gallop]] at {{Convert|25|–|30|km/h|mph|abbr=on|sigfig=2}} for short periods of time. Some species, notably the [[honey badger]], can climb well. In March 2024, scientists released footage of a wild [[Asian badger]] climbing a tree to a height of 2.5 m in South Korea.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Elves-Powell |first1=Joshua |last2=Dobson |first2=Chad R. |last3=Axmacher |first3=Jan C. |last4=Durant |first4=Sarah M. |title=Records of climbing by Asian Badger Meles leucurus in the Republic of Korea |url=https://smallcarnivoreconservation.com/index.php/sccg/article/view/5752/6252 |journal=Small Carnivore Conservation |volume=62 |pages=e62002}}</ref> Badgers are [[Nocturnality|nocturnal]].<ref name="nocturnal">{{cite web| url=http://www.ksr.ku.edu/libres/Mammals_of_Kansas/badger.html| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060814214205/http://www.ksr.ku.edu/libres/Mammals_of_Kansas/badger.html| url-status=dead| archive-date=14 August 2006| title=Badger| work=Kansas University. Ksr.ku.edu| access-date=26 August 2012}}</ref>

In North America, [[coyote]]s sometimes eat badgers and vice versa, but the majority of their interactions seem to be mutual or neutral.<ref>{{cite journal|vauthors=Kiliaan HP, Mamo C, Paquet PC | year=1991| title= A Coyote, ''Canis latrans'', and Badger, ''Taxidea taxus'', interaction near Cypress Hills Provincial Park, Alberta| journal=Canadian Field-Naturalist| volume=105| pages=122–12| doi=10.5962/p.357965| doi-access=free}}</ref>  American badgers and coyotes have been seen hunting together in a cooperative fashion.<ref>{{cite journal| author=Cahalane VH | year=1950| title= Badger-coyote "partnerships"| journal=Journal of Mammalogy| volume=31| issue=3| pages= 354–355| doi = 10.1093/jmammal/31.3.354-a }}</ref>

== Diet ==
The diet of the Eurasian badger consists largely of [[earthworm]]s (especially ''[[Lumbricus terrestris]]''),<ref>{{cite journal|title=An Analysis of Eurasian Badger (Meles meles) Population Dynamics: Implications for Regulatory Mechanisms|first1=David W.|last1=Macdonald|first2=Christopher|last2=Newman|first3=Pierre M.|last3=Nouvellet|first4=Christina D.|last4=Buesching|date=15 December 2009|journal=Journal of Mammalogy|volume=90|issue=6|pages=1392–1403|doi=10.1644/08-MAMM-A-356R1.1|doi-access=free}}</ref> [[insect]]s, [[Larva|grubs]], and the eggs and young of ground-nesting [[bird]]s. They also eat small [[mammal]]s, [[amphibian]]s, [[reptile]]s and [[bird]]s, as well as [[root]]s and [[fruit]].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.badgerecology.org/BEdiet.htm| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100328150824/http://www.badgerecology.org/BEdiet.htm| archive-date=28 March 2010| title=Eurasian badger (''Meles meles'') ecology: DIET| work= Woodchester Park Badger Research| publisher=Central Science Laboratory. csl.gov.uk | url-status=usurped| access-date=30 August 2008}}</ref> In Britain, they are the main predator of [[hedgehog]]s, which have demonstrably<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.ptes.org/files/1116_hedgehogs_on_arable_farms.pdf |title=The value of agri-environment schemes for macro-invertebrate feeders: hedgehogs on arable farms in Britain |quote=Badger predation of hedgehogs was high in the study site and the main cause of death |doi=10.1111/j.1469-1795.2010.00359.x |volume=13 |issue=5 |journal=Animal Conservation |pages=467–473 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407055019/http://www.ptes.org/files/1116_hedgehogs_on_arable_farms.pdf |archive-date=7 April 2014 |year=2010 |last1=Hof |first1=A. R. |last2=Bright |first2=P. W. |bibcode=2010AnCon..13..467H |s2cid=82793575 }}</ref> lower populations in areas where badgers are numerous, so much so that hedgehog rescue societies do not release hedgehogs into known badger territories.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.snufflelodge.org.uk/?page_id=929 | quote=badgers and hogs don't mix we'd never consider releasing hogs into ... an active badger territory | publisher=Snufflelodge.org.uk | title=Where have all the hedgehogs gone ? | access-date=27 August 2013 | archive-date=17 June 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180617042849/http://www.snufflelodge.org.uk/?page_id=929 | url-status=dead }}</ref> They are occasional predators of domestic chickens,<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.rivercottage.net/forum/ask/poultry/10984anyone-had-problems-with-badgers/ | title=Forums | publisher=River Cottage | access-date=27 August 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130525060437/http://www.rivercottage.net/forum/ask/poultry/10984anyone-had-problems-with-badgers/ | archive-date=25 May 2013 | url-status=dead | df=dmy-all }}</ref> and are able to break into enclosures that a fox cannot.  In southern Spain, badgers feed to a significant degree on rabbits.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Fedriani, J.M. |author2=Ferreras, P. |author3=Delibes, M. |name-list-style=amp | year=1998| title= Dietary response of the Eurasian badger, ''Meles meles'', to a decline of its main prey in the Doñana National Park| journal= Journal of Zoology| doi=10.1111/j.1469-7998.1998.tb00092.x| volume= 245 |pages= 214–218| issue=2|hdl=10261/50745|url=https://digital.csic.es/bitstream/10261/59857/1/journal%20of%20zool.pdf|hdl-access=free}}</ref>

American badgers are [[fossorial]] [[carnivore]]s – i.e. they catch a significant proportion of their food underground, by digging. They can tunnel after ground-dwelling rodents at speed.

The honey badger of Africa consumes [[honey]], [[porcupines]], and even venomous [[snake]]s (such as the [[Bitis arietans|puff adder]]); they climb trees to gain access to honey from bees' nests.

Badgers have been known to become intoxicated with [[Ethanol|alcohol]] after eating rotting fruit.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5i9a013U8U1EbEBcrlAf0115R6doQ |title=Drunk badger blocks German road |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=8 July 2009 |website= |publisher=AFP |access-date= |quote=| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090714211151/https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5i9a013U8U1EbEBcrlAf0115R6doQ |archive-date=14 July 2009 }}</ref>

== Relation with humans ==

=== Hunting ===
{{Main|Badger-baiting}}
Hunting badgers for sport has been common in many countries. The [[Dachshund]] (German for "badger hound") [[dog breed]] was bred for this purpose. [[Badger-baiting]] was formerly a popular [[blood sport]].<ref name = hunting>{{cite EB9 |mode=cs2 |wstitle=Badger |volume=3  |ref={{harvid|EB|1878}} |pages=227 }}</ref> Although badgers are normally quite docile, they fight fiercely when cornered. This led people to capture and box badgers and then wager on whether a dog could succeed in removing the badger from its refuge.{{sfnp|Chisholm|1911}} In England, opposition from naturalists led to its ban under the [[Cruelty to Animals Act 1835]] and the [[Protection of Badgers Act 1992]] (c. 51)<ref name="1992act">{{cite web|url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1992/51/contents|title=Protection of Badgers Act 1992|access-date=7 October 2015|author=UK Government}}</ref> made it an offence to kill, injure, or take a badger or to interfere with a sett unless under license from a [[statutory authority]]. The [[Hunting Act 2004]] further banned [[fox hunt]]ers from blocking setts during their chases.

[[File:Taxidea taxus (American badger) fur skin.jpg|thumb|right|Badger pelts]]

Badgers have been trapped commercially for their pelts, which have been used for centuries to make [[shaving brush]]es,<ref name = hunting/>{{sfnp|Chisholm|1911}} a purpose to which it is particularly suited owing to its high water retention. Virtually all commercially available badger hair now comes from [[mainland China]], though, which has farms for the purpose. The Chinese supply three grades of hair to domestic and foreign brush makers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.emsplace.com/bristle_types_and_bloom.htm|title=Bristle Styles and Additional Information|publisher=Em's Place|access-date=25 May 2013|archive-date=4 June 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080604094214/http://www.emsplace.com/bristle_types_and_bloom.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> Village cooperatives are also licensed by the national government to hunt and process badgers to avoid their becoming a crop nuisance in rural northern China. The European badger is also used as trim for some traditional [[Scottish dress|Scottish clothing]]. The American badger is also used for [[paintbrush]]es<ref name = hunting/> and as trim for some [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native American]] garments.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Taxidea_taxus.html | title=ADW: Taxidea taxus: Information | work=Animal Diversity Web | access-date=30 August 2008| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080923095800/http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Taxidea_taxus.html | archive-date= 23 September 2008 | url-status= live}}</ref>

=== Culling ===
{{Further|topic=Badgers and bovine tuberculosis|Eurasian badger}}
Controlling the badger population is prohibited in many European countries since badgers are listed in the [[Convention on the conservation of European wildlife and natural habitats|Berne Convention]], but they are not otherwise the subject of any international treaty or legislation.  Many badgers in Europe were gassed during the 1960s and 1970s to control [[rabies]].<ref>[http://www.badger.org.uk/_Attachments/Resources/283_S4.pdf The European badger (''Meles meles'')] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120901125204/http://www.badger.org.uk/_Attachments/Resources/283_S4.pdf |date=1 September 2012 }}. badger.org.uk</ref>

Until the 1980s, [[badger culling in the United Kingdom]] was undertaken in the form of gassing, allegedly to control the spread of [[Tuberculosis#Other animals|bovine tuberculosis]] (bTB). Limited culling resumed in 1998 as part of a 10-year randomised trial cull, which was considered by [[John Krebs]] and others to show that culling was ineffective. Some groups called for a selective cull,<ref>[https://www.thetimes.com/article/badger-cull-is-necessary-to-stop-them-suffering-say-vets-2xdjrcqjxqg Badger cull is necessary to stop them suffering, say vets]. ''The Times'' (27 April 2013). Retrieved on 2 September 2013.</ref> whilst others favoured a programme of vaccination.  {{asof|2013}} Wales and Northern Ireland are currently conducting field trials of a badger vaccination programme.<ref name="BBC2013">{{cite web| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-23845851| title=Badger cull begins in Somerset in attempt to tackle TB| publisher=BBC| year=2013| access-date=30 August 2013}}</ref>  In 2012 the government authorised a limited cull<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2011/dec/14/badger-culling-2012| title=Badger culling will go ahead in 2012| author=Carrington, D.| work=The Guardian| date=14 December 2011| access-date=30 August 2013}}</ref> led by the [[Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs]].  However it was later deferred and a wide range of reasons given.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/oct/23/badger-cull-postponed-2013| title=Badger cull postponed until 2013| author=Carrington, D.| work=The Guardian| date=23 October 2012| access-date=30 August 2013}}</ref>  In August 2013 a full culling programme began, whereby it was expected that about 5,000 badgers would be killed over six weeks in West [[Somerset]] and [[Gloucestershire]] using a mixture of controlled shooting and free shooting (some badgers were to be trapped in cages first). The cull caused many protests, with emotional, economic and scientific reasons being cited. The badger is considered an iconic species of the British countryside and it has been claimed by [[Shadow Cabinet|shadow ministers]] that "The government's own figures show it will cost more than it saves...", and Lord Krebs, who led the Randomised Badger Culling Trial in the 1990s, said the two pilots "will not yield any useful information".<ref name="BBC2013" />

{{Anchor|Badger gate}}

=== Badger gates ===
[[File:Badger gate, Edston Hill - geograph.org.uk - 6422240.jpg|thumb|Badger gate]]
When protecting woodlands from deer and rabbit, installing fences in badger territory can be problematic. Because badgers are persistent and strong, if fences are placed across their "runs"—established foraging and travel paths—they may well dig through or under, damaging the fence and leaving openings that rabbits can get through. Ideally, badger runs should be identified before fence construction begins. The gateways are constructed in stages over time to ensure that badgers are using the manmade openings instead of damaging the new fence: starting with leaving a cut opening in the fence at ground level, later laying a floor (threshold), later still framing the opening, and eventually hanging a small free-swinging door that is heavy enough that rabbits don't seem to learn how to push them open. The recommended door size is 18 by 25 cm and weighs about 1.1 kg.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Management of Problems Involving Badgers (Meles meles) |first1=Charles J |last1=Wilson |first2=Roger G |last2=Symes |via=PennState |publisher=[[Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (United Kingdom)]] |url=https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=99cacb85b893c68e76c5c345d3d843cb1b8e1cd4}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Badger Gates (FC Leaflet 68) |first=Judith J |last=Rowe |year=1976 |publisher=[[Forestry Commission]] |url=https://www.forestresearch.gov.uk/publications/archive-badger-gates-fc-leaflet-68-1976/}}</ref>

With a special license, badger fencing and one-way gates may be installed to exclude resident badgers from an area being developed.{{r|development}}

=== Traditional medicine ===
Badgers have been used in traditional medicine in Europe, Asia and Africa.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Elves-Powell |first1=Joshua |last2=Neo |first2=Xavier |last3=Park |first3=Sehee |last4=Woodroffe |first4=Rosie |last5=Lee |first5=Hang |last6=Axmacher |first6=Jan C. |last7=Durant |first7=Sarah M. |title=A preliminary assessment of the wildlife trade in badgers (Meles leucurus and Arctonyx spp.) (Carnivora: Mustelidae) in South Korea |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2287884X23000316 |journal=Journal of Asia-Pacific Biodiversity |date=2023 |volume=16 |issue=2 |pages=204–214|doi=10.1016/j.japb.2023.03.004 |doi-access=free }}</ref> 

=== Food ===
Although rarely eaten today in the United States or the United Kingdom,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://library.digiguide.com/lib/uk-tv-highlight/Wonderland:+The+Man+Who+Eats+Badgers+and+Other+Strange+Tales-2425/Documentary/ |title=Wonderland: The Man Who Eats Badgers and Other Strange Tales – TV pick of the day for January 23rd, 2008 |publisher=Library.digiguide.com |access-date=25 April 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090412031658/http://library.digiguide.com/lib/uk-tv-highlight/Wonderland%3A%2BThe%2BMan%2BWho%2BEats%2BBadgers%2Band%2BOther%2BStrange%2BTales-2425/Documentary/ |archive-date=12 April 2009 |url-status=live }}</ref> badgers were once a primary meat source for the diets of Native Americans and European colonists.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.bcheritage.ca/cariboo/primary/mcmick.htm | title=Primary Source documents | publisher=Bcheritage.ca | access-date=25 April 2009 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081227052054/http://www.bcheritage.ca/cariboo/primary/mcmick.htm | archive-date=27 December 2008 | df=dmy-all }}</ref><ref name="globalchefs1">{{cite web | url=http://www.globalchefs.com/article/current/art123bak.htm | title=How To Bake A Badger | publisher=Globalchefs.com | access-date=7 June 2010 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070715183303/http://www.globalchefs.com/article/current/art123bak.htm | archive-date=15 July 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.trichinella.org/epidemiology/epid_russia.htm | title=Summary of Trichinellosis Outbreaks (2001–2004) | publisher=Trichinella.org | access-date=25 April 2009 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090219205737/http://trichinella.org/epidemiology/epid_russia.htm | archive-date=19 February 2009 | url-status=dead | df=dmy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | url=http://hrcak.srce.hr/index.php?show=clanak&id_clanak_jezik=35552&lang=en | title = Sweet delicacy from hunter's kitchen - badger (Melles melles L.) | journal=Meso: The First Croatian Meat Journal | volume=VII | issue=1 | pages=46–49 | publisher = Zadružna štampa d.d. | location = Zagreb, Croatia | via=[[Hrčak]] | date=1 February 2005 | access-date=25 April 2009| last1=Konjević | first1=Dean }}</ref><ref name="vetarhiv2006">{{cite journal | url=http://www.vef.hr/vetarhiv/papers/2006-76-7-2.pdf | title=A survey of the current status of sylvatic trichinellosis in the Republic of Croatia | journal=Veterinarski Arhiv | volume=76 | year=2006 | issue=7 | pages=S1–S8 |author1=Florijančić, Tihomir |author2=Marinculić, Albert |author3=Antunović, Boris |author4=Bošković, Ivica  |name-list-style=amp }}</ref> Badgers were also eaten in Britain during [[World War II]] and the 1950s.<ref name="globalchefs1" /> In some areas of Russia, the consumption of badger meat is still widespread.<ref name="trich" /> [[Shish kebab]]s made from badger, along with dog meat and pork, are a major source of [[trichinosis]] outbreaks in the [[Altai Region]] of Russia.<ref name="trich">{{cite web | url=http://www.trichinella.org/epidemiology/epid_russia.htm | title=Summary of Trichinellosis Outbreaks (2001–2005) – Russia | publisher=www.trichinella.org | access-date=11 October 2008 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081226233944/http://www.trichinella.org/epidemiology/epid_russia.htm | archive-date=26 December 2008 | url-status=dead | df=dmy-all }}</ref> In [[Croatia]] badger meat is rarely eaten, but when it is, it is usually smoked, dried, or served in [[goulash]].<ref>{{cite journal | url=http://hrcak.srce.hr/index.php?show=clanak&id_clanak_jezik=35552&lang=en | title=Sweet delicacy from hunter's kitchen – badger (''Mell<!--sic-->es mell<!--sic-->es'' L.) Abstract | journal=Meso: The First Croatian Meat Journal | volume=VII | issue=1 | pages=46–49 | via = [[Hrčak]] - Portal of scientific journals of Croatia | access-date=11 October 2008| date=15 February 2005 | last1=Konjević | first1=Dean }}</ref> In France, badger meat was used in the preparation of several dishes, such as ''Blaireau au sang'', and it was a relatively common ingredient in countryside cuisine.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Molinier, Annie |author2=Molinier, Jean-Claude |author3=d'Hauterives, Benoît Lumeau. |title=Les cuisines oubliées |publisher=Editions Sud Ouest |location=Illinois |year=2004 |isbn=978-2-87901-549-1 |url=http://www.gastronomydomine.com/2006/06/badger-stew.html |access-date=1 November 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081207125339/http://www.gastronomydomine.com/2006/06/badger-stew.html |archive-date=7 December 2008 |url-status=dead  }}</ref> Badger meat was eaten in some parts of Spain until recently.{{when|date=July 2019}}<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.iberianature.com/mammals/other-carnivores/badgers-in-spain/ | title=Badgers in Spain | publisher=IberiaNature | access-date=25 November 2008 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081204121338/http://www.iberianature.com/mammals/other-carnivores/badgers-in-spain/| archive-date= 4 December 2008 | url-status= live}}</ref>

=== Pets ===

Badgers are sometimes kept as pets.<ref>{{cite book | last=Hubbard | first=Fran | title=Animal Friends of the Southwest | year=1985 | publisher=Awani Press | location=USA | isbn=978-0-915266-07-4 | page=29}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Packham|first=Chris|date=2013-08-27|title=Chris Packham: like Owen Paterson, I had pet badgers. But their real place was in the wild|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/shortcuts/2013/aug/27/chris-packham-pet-badgers-owen-paterson|access-date=2020-07-28|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> Keeping a badger as a pet or offering one for sale is an offence in the United Kingdom under the 1992 Protection of Badgers Act.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1992/51/section/4 | title=Protection-of-Badgers Act 1992, Section 4 | work=legislation.gov.uk | date=29 June 2011 | access-date=9 May 2016}}</ref>

== In popular culture ==
[[File:The Wind in the Willows.PNG|thumb|upright|Badger, [[European water vole|Ratty]], [[Mole (animal)|Mole]], and [[Mr. Toad]] from the 1913 edition of [[Kenneth Grahame]]'s 1908 novel ''[[The Wind in the Willows]]'']]
{{Main|List of fictional badgers}}

In Europe during the medieval period, accounts of badgers in [[bestiaries]] described badgers as working together to dig holes under mountains. They were said to lie down at the entrance of the hole holding a stick in their mouths, while other badgers piled dirt on their bellies. Two badgers would then take hold of the stick in the badger's mouth, and drag the animal loaded with dirt away, almost in the fashion of a wagon.<ref>[http://bestiary.ca/beasts/beast4721.htm "Medieval Bestiary: Badger"]. ''bestiary.ca''.</ref> The moralizing component of bestiaries often took precedence over their function as natural history texts, and this description of badgers most likely reflects an allegorical exemplar rather than what everyday people in the Middle Ages might or might not have believed about how badgers behave in the wild.<ref>Schrader, L. (1986). [https://www.metmuseum.org/art/metpublications/A_Medieval_Bestiary_The_Metropolitan_Museum_of_Art_Bulletin_v_44_no_1_Summer_1986?Tag=&title=medieval&author=&pt=0&tc=0&dept=0&fmt=0 ", ''A Medieval Bestiary''].</ref>

The 19th-century poem "The Badger" by [[John Clare]] describes a badger hunt and [[badger-baiting]]. The character Frances in [[Russell Hoban]]'s children's books, beginning with ''Bedtime for Frances'' (1948–1970), is depicted as a badger. Trufflehunter is a heroic badger in the ''[[The Chronicles of Narnia|Chronicles of Narnia]]'' book ''[[Prince Caspian]]'' (1951) by [[C. S. Lewis]].

Badger characters are featured in author [[Brian Jacques]]' ''[[Redwall]]'' series (1986–2011), they are depicted as feared warriors most often falling under the title of Badger Lord or Badger Mother.  A badger character is featured in ''[[The Immortals (series)|The Immortals]]'' (1992–1996) by [[Tamora Pierce]] and "The Badger" is a comic book hero created by [[Mike Baron]]. The badger is the emblem of the [[Hufflepuff]] house of the [[Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry]] in the [[J. K. Rowling]]'s ''[[Harry Potter]]'' book series (1997–2007), it is chosen as such because the badger is an animal that is often underestimated, because it lives quietly until attacked, but which, when provoked, can fight off animals much larger than itself, which resembles the Hufflepuff house in several ways.

Many other stories featuring badgers as characters include [[Kenneth Grahame]]'s children's novel ''[[The Wind in the Willows]]'' (1908), [[Beatrix Potter]]'s ''[[The Tale of Mr. Tod]]'' (1912; featuring badger Tommy Brock), the [[Rupert Bear]] adventures by Mary Tourtel (appearing since 1920), [[T. H. White]]'s Arthurian fantasy novels ''[[The Once and Future King]]'' (1958, written 1938–41) and ''[[The Book of Merlyn]]'' (1977), ''[[Fantastic Mr. Fox]]'' (1970) by [[Roald Dahl]], [[Richard Adams]]'s ''[[Watership Down]]'' (1972), [[Colin Dann]]'s ''[[The Animals of Farthing Wood (book)|The Animals of Farthing Wood]]'' (1979), and [[Erin Hunter]]'s ''[[Warriors (novel series)|Warriors]]'' (appearing since 2003). In the historic novel ''[[Incident at Hawk's Hill]]'' (1971) by [[Allan W. Eckert]] a badger is one of the main characters.

Badgers are also featured in films and animations: a [[flash video]] called ''[[Badgers (animation)|Badgers]]'' shows a cete doing [[calisthenics]]. The 1973 [[Walt Disney Animation Studios|Disney]] animated film ''[[Robin Hood (1973 film)|Robin Hood]]'' depicts the character of [[Friar Tuck]] as a badger. In the ''[[Doctor Snuggles]]'' series, Dennis the handyman was a badger.

In Europe, badgers were traditionally used to predict the length of [[winter]].<ref>Yoder, Don (2003) ''Groundhog Day''. Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania: Stackpole Books. {{ISBN|0-8117-0029-1}}</ref>

The badger is the state animal of the U.S. state of [[Wisconsin]],<ref>[http://dnr.wi.gov/org/caer/ce/eek/critter/mammal/badger.htm EEK! – Critter Corner – The Badger]. Dnr.wi.gov. Retrieved on 7 November 2011.</ref> though this is a reference to the state's early miners rather than the animal itself, and [[Bucky Badger]] is the mascot of the athletic teams at the [[University of Wisconsin–Madison]]. The badger is also the official mascot of [[Brock University]] in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada; [[The University of Sussex]], England; and St Aidan's College at the [[University of Durham]].

In 2007, the appearance of honey badgers around the British base at [[Basra, Iraq]], fueled rumours among the locals that British forces deliberately released "man-eating" and "bear-like" badgers to spread panic. These allegations were denied by the British army and the director of Basra's veterinary hospital.<ref>{{cite news |title=British blamed for Basra badgers |work=BBC News |date=12 July 2007 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6295138.stm |access-date=12 July 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070808051748/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6295138.stm|archive-date=8 August 2007 |url-status=live}}</ref>

On 28 August 2013, the [[Personal computer|PC]] video game ''[[Shelter (video game)|Shelter]]'' was released by developers [[Might and Delight]] in which players control a mother badger protecting her cubs.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/07/26/hands-on-shelter/ |title=Hands On: Shelter |date=26 July 2013 |first=Cara |last=Ellison |access-date=3 September 2013 |work=[[Rock, Paper, Shotgun]]}}</ref>

An [[internet meme]] (''[[Badgers (animation)|Badger, badger, badger]]'') appeared [[Viral video|viral]] in the early years of [[YouTube]], later initiating other versions of the animation.

As a sub-series of the [[Sonic the Hedgehog (series)|''Sonic the Hedgehog'' franchise]], [[List of Sonic the Hedgehog characters#Sticks the Badger|Sticks the Badger]] is one of the main characters of the [[Sonic Boom (TV series)|''Sonic Boom'' series]].<ref>{{cite web|url = https://purenintendo.com/sega-introduces-all-new-character-sticks-to-sonic-boom-franchise/ |title = SEGA Introduces All-New Character Sticks to Sonic Boom Franchise|work = Pure Nintendo|first = James |last = Higginbotham|date = 29 May 2014}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Badgers}}
{{Wikispecies|melinae}}
* [http://www.badgerland.co.uk/ Badgerland – The Definitive On-Line Guide to Badgers in the UK]
* [http://durhambadgers.org.uk/page.php?pageid=1 Durham County Badger Group] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121002054415/http://durhambadgers.org.uk/page.php?pageid=1 |date=2 October 2012 }}
* [http://www.wildlifeonline.me.uk/european_badger.html WildlifeOnline – Natural History of Badgers]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090106012741/http://www.wildlife-web.org.uk/badger/facts Badger Facts]
* [http://www.ontariobadgers.org/ www.ontariobadgers.org – Information about American Badgers]
* [http://www.dassenwerkgroepbrabant.nl/pages/frontpagepag.html Local dutch badger group]
* [http://www.ecology.info/badger-coyote.htm Badger-Coyote Associations] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120919205605/http://ecology.info/badger-coyote.htm |date=19 September 2012 }}
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ej3IGboQcIg YouTube video of examples of Badger scratching trees]
* {{Wikisource-inline|list=
** {{cite EB9 |wstitle = Badger |volume= III | page=227 |short=1}}
** {{cite AmCyc|wstitle=Badger |short=x |noicon=x}}
** {{cite PSM|wstitle=The Badger and the Fox|volume=38|month-and-year=April 1891 |noicon=x}} Reprinted from ''[[Cornhill Magazine]]''.
}}

{{Carnivora|M.}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Portal bar|Mammals}}

[[Category:Badgers| ]]
[[Category:Mammal common names]]
[[Category:Paraphyletic groups]]