American Badger
Class: Mammalia
Family: Mustelidae
Species: Taxidea taxus
Range: Although most prevalent in the American Great Plains they can be found all over North America, from Canada down into mountainous areas of Mexico.
Habitat: Prefer dry open grasslands and prairies or mountainous meadows.
Diet: Primarily carnivorous, preying upon small mammals such as pocket gophers and prairie dogs, as well as fish, insects, ground dwelling birds, lizards, and amphibians; will sometimes consume plant material like sunflower seeds and corn.
Lifespan: in the wild 5-10 years, captivity over 20 years.
Digger
Found along the road in southern Oregon orphaned after his mom was hit by a car. Arrived at Turtle Bay August 16, 2011 at about 5 months of age. Digger is the smartest mammal that the Turtle Bay trainer’s have trained. He learns new behaviors in as little as one or two sessions. Digger made his national debut on television playing Bucky the Badger on the hit show New Girl in spring 2013. Digger’s favorite treat is honey.
Interested in the Adopt-An-Anamal program? Click link below.
Fun Facts
Mostly solitary animals.
Fantastic diggers! Badgers are equipped with large front claws to dig burrows and look for their favorite food of burrowing mammals. They are able to dig about 3-feet a minute! Their toes are semi-webbed to aid in pulling the dirt out, acting like a shovel.
They will also dig burrows for living in, called a "sett", and may have several throughout their territory. In the summer, they may make a new one on a daily basis. The burrows can be over 3-meters deep and have several meters of tunnels.
The badger and the coyote have been known to work together in cooperative predation because of their similar prey and different hunting methods. Badgers dig out the animals, pushing them out of burrows into open land, where the coyote will chase it down. In chasing the prey, coyotes will also scare animals into burrows where the badger is waiting.
Farmers don't appreciate badger holes as livestock often trip in them and break legs, but they are important in keeping rodent populations down.
Able to eat rattlesnakes, they have some immunity to the venom if bitten.