American Badger

Photo of badger
Species of Conservation Concern
Scientific Name
Taxidea taxus
Family
Mustelidae (weasels) in the order Carnivora
Description

The American badger is a heavy-bodied, medium-sized mammal with a broad head, short neck, short legs, and a short bushy tail. The ears are low and rounded. The claws on the front feet are very long and are generally gray with a slight yellowish tinge. The brown face is marked with a white stripe, white patches, and vertical black bars. Males and females look alike, although males are heavier.

Size

Total length: 26–35 inches; tail length: 4–7 inches; weight: 13–30 pounds.

Where To Find
American Badger Distribution Map

Sparse across most of the state. Most common in the Central Dissected Till Plains (in northern Missouri) and Osage Plains (in western Missouri).

Badgers prefer open areas such as prairies and other grasslands where soils are relatively sandy. In these places they can easily dig for ground squirrels and other burrowing animals, their principal foods. They also occur in croplands, the sand prairies of southeastern Missouri, plus fields, pastures, yards around homes, parklands, and farms. They find shelter along roadways, fence rows, ditches, banks, and field edges.

Badgers have a home range of 1 to 2½ square miles. They dig a series of dens across their home range. They are most active at night. During winter, they become less active, occasionally leaving their burrows to hunt for food. They are excellent diggers and dig faster than their burrowing prey. The usual "home" burrows are shallow and about 1 foot in diameter. During breeding season, the burrows are deeper and longer. Badgers can move quickly, up to 15 miles per hour, and are capable swimmers.

Badgers can be harvested during an established trapping season. Consult the current Wildlife Code of Missouri for regulations.

If you are experiencing problems with badgers, contact a wildlife professional for advice, assistance, regulations, or special conditions for handling these animals.

Badgers eat rodents such as ground squirrels and mice. They also eat rabbits, insects, lizards, snakes, and eggs of birds and turtles.

In Missouri, the American badger is a species of conservation concern because of its restricted range, recent and widespread declines, and/or other factors. Recent research, however, has suggested that the badger population is healthy and stable in the state.

Badgers are occasionally trapped, but their fur is not valuable, so most trappers do not target them.

In the western United States, extensive poisoning campaigns for burrowing rodents reduced or eliminated the food supply for badgers and are one reason badger numbers are somewhat reduced in western states.

Badgers mate in late summer and give birth in early spring. The young stay with their mothers through the summer.

Badger Control

Badgers control rodent pests, and their digging activities aerate and improve the soil. Their digging usually represents a search for some other animal that has already burrowed into the ground.

Where they are numerous (in states to our west), they can cause problems with their digging activities, and they occasionally prey on livestock or poultry. These are generally not problems in Missouri, where badgers are so uncommon.

Humans are the largest predator on badgers. Badger fur has been used to make coats and hats and to trim cloth coats. Formerly, the fur was used in making shaving brushes, and the tough hide was made into rugs.

Badgers control rodent and rabbit populations, and their digging activities aerate and mix the soil.

Coyotes, dogs, and bobcats may take the young of badgers, and bears and mountain lions are known to kill badgers.

In the western part of their range, single badgers and coyotes have been reported as sometimes hunting together. The coyote pounces upon a rodent that has eluded the badger's digging, while the coyote's presence at various burrow entrances increases the badger's success by preventing the escape of weary ground squirrels.

Hawks have also been observed to follow a badger, presumably on the alert for some escaping rodent.

Illustration of American badger tracks

Front track:

  • 3½ inches long, 2 inches wide
  • 5 toes, claws often showing.

Hind track:

  • 1 7/8 to 2 3/4 inches long
  • 5 toes; claws rarely show.

Other notes:

  • Badgers are uncommon in Missouri; they are most likely to be seen in northern and western parts of the state, and counties that border the Missouri River. They are rare in the Ozarks.
  • They are nomadic.
  • They are busy diggers and often leave chaotic-looking tracks and digging marks.
  • The heel pads seldom show.
  • Tracks often turn inward (as if walking pigeon-toed).
  • Hind tracks are positioned just in front of the front tracks.
  • Distance between strides is 6–12 inches (varies considerably).
Media Gallery
Photo of badger
Strong, sharp-clawed badgers can dig a hole and disappear underground in less than a minute.
Glenn Chambers
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Video footage of a wild badger in Missouri grassland habitat
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Listen the sounds a wild badger makes.
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Photo of badger
Badger crawls through grass
Similar Species

Where to See Species

About Mammals in Missouri
More than 70 species of wild mammals live in Missouri: opossums; shrews and moles; bats; rabbits; woodchuck, squirrels, beaver, mice, voles, and other rodents; coyote, foxes, bear, raccoon, weasels, otter, mink, skunks, bobcat, and other carnivores; deer and elk; and more. Most of us recognize mammals easily — they have fur, are warm-blooded, nurse their young, and breathe air.
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