American Badger Info
1. Where do Badgers Live?
2. How can I tell a Badger Burrow from a Gopher Hole or a Skunk Burrow?
3. How can I tell if a Badger is in my area?
4. What's a Badger's life like?
5. What if I see a Badger?
6. Are Badgers Disappearing?
7. How can I help? How can I report a Badger Sighting?
1. Where do Badgers Live?
American Badger will live where soil is friable and diggable, often in grassland areas with hillsides, although flat land burrowing and burrowing adjacent to trees have been observed.
A badger digs an elliptical-hole burrow, about 8-10 inches in width, and normally 3-4 feet in depth. A female may dig a series of burrows to connect underground, facilitating birthing and raising of her young. Observations indicate a badger will dig a burrow and stay there for one night to about a week ¨C if foraging and prey are abundant in the area. Then, the badger movse on to another area for foraging and sustenance.
As mammal biologist Kim Fitts has observed, badgers prefer areas for return in their home ranges, and a female badger may reside on land indefinitely, with male badgers occupying the same territory long enough to mate and then move on.
Seeing 3 to 4 badger burrows in an area is a reflection only of burrowing and digging ¨C not of the number of badgers in a specific area. One badger may dig 2-4 burrows in one night, or possibly 2 or more badgers may be in an area. Looking for badger prints or tracks can help discern the presence of a badger and its size.
Badgers are such efficient habitat-makers, their abandoned burrows are often reused by skunks, foxes, and burrowing owl, California tiger salamander, and California red-legged frog.
2. How can I tell a Badger Burrow from a Gopher Hole or a Skunk Burrow?
There are 2 basic differences.
Check the freshly dug-out dirt, in front of the burrow, for badger tracks. The 5 points of the claws on the badger's paws in a fairly narrow footprint are distinct. This track is distinguishable from a fox or skunk print. The badger print is longer, flatter, with the 5-claw points.
Or, check the size of the burrow. Badger burrows reflect the size of a badger, like a medium-sized dog. Burrows are larger than skunk burrow openings or fox dens. Observe from about 3 feet away. The badger burrow usually has the appearance of a mound-like structure, with displaced dirt equal to what's now a nice residence inside piled outside the front of the burrow.
The burrow entrance measurement for a badger is about 8-10 inches on average. Skunk dens are usually about 5 inches. Gopher holes are equal to the gopher size, about 3 inches maximum in width for the entrance.
3. How can I tell if a Badger is in my area?
Freshly made burrows will have fresh dirt outside the entrance. Check for the distinct claw-paw fresh prints in that dirt. Sometimes, scratch marks on the side of the burrow entrance are quite visible.
Gopher holes that have been foraged will be enlarged with an almost perfectly cylindrical amount of dirt surrounding the formerly small gopher hole entrance, all around the gopher hole.
Sometimes, nature enthusiasts mistake foraged out gopher or vole holes, which can be quite deep, for an actual burrow dug for sleeping. Observe carefully the area that has been dug ¨C more often than not, what is thought to be a burrow is actually foraging activity, as badgers move from one gopher mound or gopher or vole hole to another, sniffing for the scent, and foraging for the prey.
What about scat? Badger scat is generally squarish and flat. Badgers normally bury their scat, so looking for scat as evidence of badgers in an area isn't very reliable.
4. What's a Badger's life like?
Female badgers are territorial. Males move through a female's territory or come there to mate.
Mating usually occurs in late Autumn (October-November). Young badgers are born in Winter (January-February). Anywhere from 2 to 5 young badgers may be born to a female. Badger young are born blind. Eyes open at about 4-6 weeks of age.
In Spring, a badger seen in daylight hours may be a female out hunting, while at the same time aware of protecting her young nearby.
At about 6-8 months of age, the female mother facilitates the exit of the burrow and area of her young, and they disperse in Summer months (June-July and early August) to seek their own territories.
With climate change impacts and temperature changes, the normal cycle of mating and life for the American Badger may be altered.
5. What if I see a Badger?
American Badgers are generally nocturnal animals, like skunk, opossum, and fox. Badgers normally sleep in their burrows during daytime and emerge at dusk to evening to forage and hunt.
In remote areas with little human encroachment or presence, American Badger has been observed to be foraging and hunting in daytime.
A definite consequence of American Badger in an area where more human activity exists is a restriction to nocturnal life for sustenance. This is a survival mode for the badger, especially when a preferred home area may be in proximity to humans.
If you see a badger from a significant distance and the badger does not detect your presence thought sight or scent, observing the badger can be a thrilling experience. If in a known habitat area and you happen to see a badger, to best accommodate and respect the species: (1) Change your vision to peripheral vision only. (2) Slowly retreat, step back several steps (a recognized behavior by badgers) and then turn and leave the area. (3) Remain calm at all times. A badger will become defensive if there is something to defend nearby such as blind and/or innocent young in a burrow leave the area immediately.
Only misinformation and misunderstanding, or a blood-thirsty sport hunter, lead to injury to badgers. Badgers are people-shy and want nothing to do with humans. For such mammals whose burrowing activity provides significant habitat for other species, a high level of respect is most appropriate.
The myth of badger burrows causing broken legs in horses or cows has not been confirmed by PLAN. A horse galloping on a hillside with approximately 12 active burrows has been observed ¨C with the horse avoiding all burrow holes and no injury. Agriculture and badgers often peacefully co-exist, as grassland areas where animals graze are the only remaining habitat a badger may have. Ranchers and farmers sometimes dislike badgers, for fear of losing an animal with a broken leg who cannot be a money-producer for the rancher or farmer. It may be helpful to keep this information and misinformation in mind, in working to protect wildlife movement areas in general, often created by and sustained by American Badger for other species.
6. Are Badgers Disappearing?
Badgers are unique mammals. Badgers help with natural management of rodent populations. They forage for gophers, voles and mice. When badgers are in an area, more often than not, raptors who forage on the same prey will share the area and nest there.
American Badger is classified since 1987 by the California Department of Fish and Game as a Species of Concern. Without question, badger habitat and the ability to move through wildlife corridors have been shrinking and the ability to normally range, for example 10-20 miles, is almost nonexistent due to development, human encroachment into habitat, and habitat fragmentation.
Little has been known or documented about American Badger due to the mammal's elusive nature and intelligence in avoiding human contact. Bioconsultant LLC in Santa Rosa, CA has expertise in American Badger and has documented and monitored the Paula Lane badger habitat since 2003.
The Bay Area Open Space Council's Upland Habitat Database and Goals project cites American Badger as a species to monitor in upland areas. Preserving upland habitat and wildlife corridors may lead to biodiversity support, as wildlife in coastal areas with increased temperatures seek to move inland and upland for cooler areas of habitat and sustenance.
Protection of American Badger and habitat, as well as enhanced awareness and education, have been a primary focus of P.L.A.N. for many years, and our work continues.
7. How can I help? How can I report a Badger Sighting?
BadgerMap is a documentation project of American Badger habitat and species sightings in Sonoma County and our San Francisco Bay Area.
BadgerMap is a private project on iNaturalist (www.inaturalist.org).
As of November 2011, BadgerMap has 21 entries ¨C 17 habitat and 4 species sighting notations.
If you see what you believe is a badger burrow or a badger, please contact us ---
info@paulalaneactinonetwork.org
(707) 241-5548
(707) 773-3215
We will gladly confirm the information and add your contribution to BadgerMap or note the date of report if your area is already in the database.
Our intent is to collect data and provide as local input to the Bay Area Open Space Council's project, as well as provide data to agencies charged with protecting the species. Over time, we hope to identify frequently traversed wildlife movement areas through BadgerMap documentation. This may help support protection of wildlife corridors, an increasingly important facet of wildlife habitat and connectivity, as climate change impacts continue.
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