Is the hog badger a protected animal? You'll understand after reading this
The hog badger, also known as the sand badger, mountain badger, etc., is a mammal of the genus Arctonyx in the family Mustelidae. It inhabits broad-leaved forests, mixed coniferous and broad-leaved forests, shrub grasslands, plains, hills and other environments in high, medium and low mountain areas, generally choosing natural rock crevices and tree hollows as habitat sites. It is found throughout the provinces and regions of China, especially more abundant in the south. Let's take a look below at whether the hog badger is a protected animal!
Is the hog badger a protected animal?
The hog badger is a protected animal. The population distribution of the hog badger is not scattered, and it is very common in the Lao People's Democratic Republic, Thailand, the high mountain areas of Sumatra in Indonesia, and the southwestern and eastern regions of Cambodia. In Myanmar, due to the decrease in sightings, it can be shown that the abundance of this species has generally declined. Studies show that the population trend of the hog badger may differ across its distribution range, but the overall population is declining. It has been listed in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species of 2008.
The difference between the dog badger and the hog badger
The dog badger and the hog badger are similar but slightly different. The dog badger looks like a small dog but is fatter than a small dog, while the hog badger has bare skin between its nose pad and upper lip, and its muzzle and nose are narrow, long and round, closely resembling a pig's snout. The dog badger's four legs are taller than the hog badger's, its head is narrower than the hog badger's head, its canine teeth are longer than the hog badger's, and its paws are more compact than the hog badger's, not as flat as the hog badger's, more like dog paws, and its claws are not as curved and long as the hog badger's.
What kinds of badgers are there?
1. Dog badger: The dog badger, also known as the badger, badger eight dog, etc., is mainly distributed in the northeast, northwest, south China, central-south and other places of China. Its head is flat, nose pointed, ears short, neck short and thick, tail relatively short, limbs short and sturdy, claws strong and suitable for digging soil, and it often lives in holes. The back hair is hard and dense, white at the base, blackish brown near the end, and white at the tip, with more white hair on the sides of the body. The lower jaw, throat, abdomen and 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 holes. Its diet is very mixed.
2. Honey badger: The honey badger has a body length of 60-77 cm, and shoulder height generally 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 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 burrows. It is omnivorous and eats all kinds of food, including small mammals, birds, reptiles, ants, carrion, wild fruits, berries, nuts, etc., and even eats venomous snakes such as cobras and mamba snakes, but what it likes to eat most is honey.
3. Hog badger: The hog badger is similar in size to the dog badger, with the whole body light brown or blackish brown, the throat and tail white, and 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 the dog badger's, living in caves, dwelling in rock caves or digging holes. It is fierce in nature, its call sounds like a pig, its vision is poor, its sense of smell is well developed, it is nocturnal, and its diet is mixed, especially liking 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, also known as the bear, flying bear, bear marten, etc., is probably named because it has both the cruelty of a wolf and the body shape of a badger. In fact, the wolverine belongs to the weasel family, is mainly brown, and from a distance looks very much like a small brown bear. It is greedy by nature and its food is very mixed. It likes eating the carcasses of large beasts or stealing hunters' prey, including the females and young of large herbivores such as reindeer and red deer. It also catches foxes, wildcats, roe deer, otters, grouse, hazel grouse, rodents, etc., and also eats mushrooms, pine nuts or various berries, and especially loves eating honey.
5. Ferret badger: The ferret badger, also known as the meizi, mountain badger, white meizi, etc., has a thick and short neck, short round and upright ear shells, small eyes, and relatively large variation in coat color. The back is light grayish brown or yellowish grayish brown, dark purplish gray to brownish brown, and the abdomen is pale white, yellowish white, cinnamon to apricot yellow. It is nocturnal, cave-dwelling, relatively slow-moving, omnivorous, with obvious seasonal changes in activity. It reproduces once a year, with 2-4 young per litter, and inhabits forests, shrub thickets and grassy areas in river valleys, ravines, hills and mountain areas. It is distributed in China, India, the Lao People's Democratic Republic, Myanmar and Vietnam.