What do badgers eat? A detailed explanation of the badger's dietary habits
The badger, also known as the badger mushroom, hemp badger, mountain badger, etc., is a mammal of the genus Meles in the family Mustelidae. It is generally active in spring and autumn, has a fierce temperament, hibernates, and lives in burrows. Its habitat is relatively broad, often dwelling in forests or hillside scrub, fields, graveyards, dune grasslands, and beside lakes and streams in various habitats. Let's take a look below at what badgers eat!
What do badgers eat?
The badger is omnivorous, feeding on plant roots, stems, and fruits, as well as frogs, earthworms, small fish, sand lizards, insects (larvae and pupae), and small mammals. In grassland areas it likes to eat food left behind by wolves. During crop sowing and ripening periods, it damages freshly sown seeds and nearly ripe corn, peanuts, potatoes, sweet potatoes, beans, and melons. It inhabits various habitats such as forests or hillside scrub, fields, graveyards, dune grasslands, and beside lakes and streams.
Breeding habits of the badger
The badger breeds once a year. In September to October, males and females chase each other and mate. The following year, between April and May, they give birth, with 2 to 5 cubs per litter. The cubs open their eyes after one month. In June to July, the young follow the mother to move about and forage. In autumn, the young badgers leave the mother and live independently, reaching sexual maturity after three years. The female has 3 pairs of nipples, the front pair close to the chest, with each pair of nipples 75 mm apart, filled with milk. Except for the white head, the young are covered in grayish-white fur, while the back and limbs are slightly black, and they often make "ji, ji" calls.
Living habits of the badger
The badger has a hibernation habit and lives in burrows. The burrow passages range from several meters to more than ten meters in length, with crisscrossing branch passages. The winter burrow is complex, a den inhabited for many years, formed by annual repairs and digging, with 2 to 3 entrances and exits, and containing a main passage, side passages, and blind ends. The walls of the main passage are smooth and neat, with no debris or feces, and at the end a nest is built with dry grass, branches, and leaves. In spring and autumn, temporary burrows are dug on earth mounds and in scrub near farmland. During the day it enters the burrow to rest, and at night it comes out to look for food. This type of burrow is short and straight, with rough passages, a small nest, a thin grass lining, and only one exit. The nest is about 3 to 5 meters from the entrance, with a diameter of 40 to 60 cm. In burrows inhabited by badgers, the entrance is smooth, the soil is loose, and footprints remain on it; the loose soil extends about 20 meters, and on both sides at the end of the loose soil there are oval-shaped dung pits.
Distribution range of the badger
The badger is distributed in Afghanistan, Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, China, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Moldova, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom. In China, it is distributed from Inner Mongolia, Northeast China, and North China all the way to the provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan, Sichuan, Hubei, Shaanxi, Guizhou, and Gansu.