European badger
The European badger, also known as the Eurasian badger, is a badger species in the family Mustelidae native to Europe and West Asia and parts of Central Asia. It is classified as least concern on the IUCN Red List, as it has a wide range and a large, stable population size which is thought to be increasing in some regions. Several subspecies are recognized, with the nominate subspecies predominating in most of Europe. In Europe, where no other badger species commonly occurs, it is generally just called the "badger".
The European badger is a powerfully built, black, white, brown, and grey animal with a small head, a stocky body, small black eyes, and a short tail. Its weight varies, being in spring, but building up to in autumn before the winter sleep period. It is nocturnal and is a social, burrowing animal that sleeps during the day in one of several setts in its territorial range. These burrows have multiple chambers and entrances, and are extensive systems of underground passages of length. They house several badger families that use these setts for decades. Badgers are fussy over the cleanliness of their burrow, carrying in fresh bedding and removing soiled material, and they defecate in latrines strategically situated outside their setts or en route to other setts.
Although taxonomically classified as a carnivoran, the European badger is an omnivore, feeding on a wide variety of plant and animal foods, including earthworms, large insects, small mammals, carrion, cereals, and tubers. Litters of up to five cubs are produced in spring. The young are weaned a few months later, but usually remain within the family group. The European badger has been known to share its burrow with other species, such as rabbits, red foxes, and raccoon dogs, but it can be ferocious when provoked, a trait which has been exploited in the now-illegal blood sport of badger-baiting. Like many wild and domesticated species of mammals, badgers can be carriers of bovine tuberculosis, which can spread between species and can be particularly detrimental to cattle. In England, badger populations are culled to try to reduce the incidence of bovine tuberculosis in cattle, although the efficacy of this practice is strongly disputed, and badger culls are widely considered cruel and inhumane.
Nomenclature
The source of the word "badger" is uncertain. The Oxford English Dictionary states it probably derives from "badge" + -ard, a reference to the white mark on its forehead that resembles a badge, and may date to the early 16th century. The French word bêcheur has also been suggested as a source. A male badger is a boar, a female is a sow, and a young badger is a cub. A badger's home is called a sett. Badger colonies are often called clans.The far older name "brock", is a Celtic loanword meaning 'grey'. The Proto-Germanic term was *þahsu-, probably from the PIE root *tek'- 'to construct', which suggests that the badger was named after its digging of setts ; the Germanic term *þahsu- became taxus or taxō, -ōnis in Latin glosses, replacing mēlēs, and from these words the common Romance terms for the animal evolved except Asturian melandru.
Until the mid-18th century, European badgers were variously known in English as brock, pate, grey, and bawson. The name "bawson" is derived from "bawsened", which refers to something striped with white. "Pate" is a local name that was once popular in northern England. The name "badget" was once common, but only used in Norfolk, while "earth dog" was used in southern Ireland. The badger is commonly referred to in Welsh as a mochyn daear.
Taxonomy
Ursus meles was the scientific name used by Carl Linnaeus in 1758, who described the badger in his work Systema Naturae.Evolution
The species likely evolved from the Chinese Meles thorali of the early Pleistocene. The modern species originated during the early Middle Pleistocene, with fossil sites occurring in Episcopia, Grombasek, Süssenborn, Hundsheim, Erpfingen, Koněprusy, Mosbach 2, and Stránská Skála. A comparison between fossil and living specimens shows a marked progressive adaptation to omnivory, namely in the increase in the molars' surface areas and the modification of the carnassials. Occasionally, badger bones are discovered in earlier strata, due to the burrowing habits of the species.Subspecies
In the 19th and 20th centuries, several badger type specimens were described and proposed as subspecies., eight subspecies were recognized as valid taxa, but four are now considered to belong to a distinct species, the Caucasian badger.| Subspecies | Trinomial authority and synonyms | Description | Range |
| Common badger | Linnaeus, 1758 taxus alba maculata vulgaris europaeus caninus communis britannicus caucasicus tauricus danicus | A large subspecies with a strongly developed sagittal crest, it has a soft pelage and relatively dense underfur. The back has a relatively pure silvery-grey tone, while the main tone of the head is pure white. The dark stripes are wide and black, while the white fields fully extend along the upper and lateral parts of the neck. It can weigh up to 20–24 kg in autumn, with some specimens attaining even larger sizes. | Continental Europe, except for the Iberian Peninsula. Its eastern range encompasses the European area of the former Soviet Union eastward to the Volga, Crimea, Ciscaucasia, and the northern Caucasus |
| Iberian badger | Graells, 1897 mediterraneus | Spain and Portugal | |
| Kizlyar badger | Ognev, 1931 | A large subspecies, it exhibits several traits of the Asian badger, namely its very pale, dull, dirty-greyish-ocherous colour and narrow head stripes. | Steppe region of northeastern Ciscaucasia, the Kalmytsk steppes and the Volga delta |
| Norwegian badger | Baryshnikov, Puzachenko and Abramov, 2003 | This subspecies has a smaller skull and smaller teeth than the nominate badger subspecies in Sweden and Finland. | Southwestern Norway, west of Telemark |
Description
European badgers are powerfully built animals with small heads, thick, short necks, stocky, wedge-shaped bodies and short tails. Their feet are plantigrade or semi-digitigrade and short, with five toes on each foot. The limbs are short and massive, with naked lower surfaces on the feet. The claws are strong, elongated and have an obtuse end, which assists in digging. The claws are not retractable, and the hind claws wear with age. Old badgers sometimes have their hind claws almost completely worn away from constant use. Their snouts, which are used for digging and probing, are muscular and flexible. The eyes are small and the ears short and tipped with white. Whiskers are present on the snout and above the eyes.Boars typically have broader heads, thicker necks and narrower tails than sows, which are sleeker, have narrower, less domed heads and fluffier tails. The guts of badgers are longer than those of red foxes, reflecting their omnivorous diet. The small intestine has a mean length of and lacks a cecum. Both sexes have three pairs of nipples but these are more developed in females. European badgers cannot flex their backs as martens, polecats and wolverines can, nor can they stand fully erect like honey badgers, though they can move quickly at full gallop.
Adults measure in shoulder height, in body length, in tail length, in hind foot length and in ear height. Males slightly exceed females in measurements, but can weigh considerably more. Their weights vary seasonally, growing from spring to autumn and reaching a peak just before the winter. During the summer, European badgers commonly weigh and in autumn.
The average weight of adults in the Białowieża Forest was in spring but up to in autumn, 46% higher than the spring low mass. In Woodchester Park, England, adults in spring weighed on average and in fall average. In Doñana National Park, average weight of adult badgers is reported as, perhaps in accordance with Bergmann's rule, that its size decreases in relatively warmer climates. Sows can attain a top autumn weight of around, while exceptionally large boars have been reported in autumn. The heaviest verified was, though unverified specimens have been reported to and even . If average weights are used, the European badger ranks as the second largest terrestrial mustelid, behind only the wolverine. Although their sense of smell is acute, their eyesight is monochromatic as has been shown by their lack of reaction to red lanterns. Only moving objects attract their attention. Their hearing is no better than that of humans.
European badger skulls are quite massive, heavy and elongated. Their braincases are oval in outline, while the facial part of their skulls is elongated and narrow. Adults have prominent sagittal crests which can reach 15 mm tall in old males, and are more strongly developed than those of honey badgers. Aside from anchoring the jaw muscles, the thickness of the crests protect their skulls from hard blows. Similar to martens, the dentition of European badgers is well-suited for their omnivorous diets. Their incisors are small and chisel-shaped, their canine teeth are prominent and their carnassials are not overly specialized. Their molars are flattened and adapted for grinding. Their jaws are powerful enough to crush most bones; a provoked badger was once reported as biting down on a man's wrist so severely that his hand had to be amputated. The dental formula is.
Scent glands are present below the base of the tail and on the anus. The subcaudal gland secretes a musky-smelling, cream-coloured fatty substance, while the anal glands secrete a stronger-smelling, yellowish-brown fluid.