What do badgers like to eat? An analysis of badger feeding habits

The badger is a mammal, a precious wild economic animal valued for its hide, fur, meat and medicinal uses, with high application value. At present there are the hog badger, the Eurasian badger, the honey badger and others, so what do badgers like to eat?

1. What do badgers like to eat?

The badger is an omnivorous animal and likes to eat earthworms, frogs, loaches, rice-field eels, corn, wheat, soybeans, peanuts, millet, dried melon, various tubers, melons, fruits and vegetables, etc. Generally it does not eat food in winter, but it eats heavily in autumn, accumulating a large amount of subcutaneous fat.

2. What kinds of badgers are there?

1. Eurasian badger

The Eurasian badger, also known as the badger or badger-eight-dog, is mainly distributed in northeast, northwest, south and central-south China. It has a flat head, a pointed nose, short ears, a short and thick neck, a relatively short tail, and short but sturdy limbs. Its claws are strong and suitable for digging soil, and it often lives in burrows. The hair on its back is hard and dense, white at the base, with a section near the tip that is dark brown, and white hair tips; there is more white hair on the sides of its body. The lower jaw, throat, abdomen and all four limbs are brownish black. It mostly inhabits jungles, barren hills, streams and lakes, and shrub thickets on hillsides and hills. It likes living in groups and is good at digging burrows. Its diet is very mixed.

2. Honey badger

The honey badger has a body length of 60-77 cm and a shoulder height generally of 25-30 cm. Its back is gray. Its fur is loose and very rough, and it is not afraid of bee stings or snake bites. It lives in shallow burrows in various types of terrain——rainforests, open grasslands and even watersides. It is active at dusk and at night, often coming out alone or in pairs. During the day it rests in underground burrows. It is omnivorous and eats all kinds of food, including small mammals, birds, reptiles, ants, carrion, wild fruits, berries, nuts and so on, and even eats venomous snakes such as cobras and mambas, but what it likes to eat most is honey.

3. Hog badger

The hog badger is similar in size to the Eurasian badger. Its whole body is light brown or blackish brown, its throat and tail are white, and there is a white longitudinal stripe from the tip of the nose to the nape. It inhabits areas from plains to mountain areas at an altitude of more than 3000 m. Its living habits are similar to those of the Eurasian badger: it lives in caves, dwelling in rock caves or burrows it digs. It is fierce by nature, and its call sounds like a pig. Its eyesight is poor, but its sense of smell is well developed. It is nocturnal and omnivorous, especially fond of animal food, including earthworms, frogs, lizards, loaches, rice-field eels, mole crickets, longhorn beetles and rodents, etc. It also eats plant food, and sometimes steals crops such as corn, wheat, sweet potatoes and peanuts.

4. Wolverine

The wolverine is also known as the bear, flying bear, bear marten and so on, probably because it has both the cruelty of a wolf and the body shape of a badger, hence the name. In fact, the wolverine belongs to the weasel family. It is mainly brown and, seen from a distance, looks very much like a small brown bear. It is greedy by nature and eats a very mixed diet. It likes eating the carcasses of large beasts or stealing hunters' game, including female and young of large herbivores such as reindeer and red deer. It also catches foxes, wildcats, roe deer, otters, grouse, hazel grouse, rodents and so on, and also eats mushrooms, pine nuts or various berries, and especially loves eating honey.

5. Ferret badger

The ferret badger is also known as the meizi, mountain badger, white meizi and so on. It has a thick, short neck, short, round, upright ear shells, and small eyes. Its fur color varies greatly: the back may range from light grayish brown or yellow-grayish brown, dark purplish gray to brownish brown, while the abdomen may range from pale white, yellowish white, cinnamon to apricot yellow. It is nocturnal, lives in burrows, moves rather slowly, is omnivorous, and shows obvious seasonal changes in activity. It breeds once a year, with 2-4 young per litter, and inhabits forests, shrub thickets and grassy thickets in river valleys, ravines, hills and mountain areas. It is distributed in China, India, the Lao People's Democratic Republic, Myanmar and Vietnam.