Badger – one of the representatives of the family of cunies. He is the largest representative in his family. Weight of a badger in the summer is 20-24 kg, before hibernation, its weight can increase to 34 kg. The badger is 90 cm long. The body is strong, wedge-shaped. The wool of the badger is thick and long, with an additional undercoat. The head is rounded with a pointed muzzle at the end and a short, almost invisible neck. Ears small, at the end rounded.
The limbs are short and massive with long claws on the fingers, which are great for digging the earth. The badger also has a tail, its length is 20-24 centimeters. Body color is brownish-gray with silvery overflow. The muzzle of the badger is white with two black strips running along the line of eyes from nose to ear. The tips of the ears are white. The bad sense of the badger is the sense of smell and hearing. See badgers bad as far and close.
Badgers live by families or singly. Everything depends on the density of the population. If the population in one area is very large, badgers live in small family groups. Such groups have the main hole, the head of the family (mostly the oldest male of the group) and the dominant female. The total area of a family plot can range from 35 to 400 hectares.
On the borders of their towns, badgers are left with marks, with a characteristic musky smell, which is the same for all members of the family. With the help of this smell, badgers of this family get to know each other. As a border for strangers leave their excrement.
In conditions where the density of the population is low, badgers lead a single way of life without determining the main hole.
Badger lives almost throughout Europe except Finland and the northern part of the Scandinavian Peninsula. In addition to Europe, another species of badger is found in Asia (Asian badger). Also highlight another species that is distributed throughout North America – the American badger.
Although the habitat of the badger is quite wide, it is very fortunate to meet it in the forest. This is due to the fact that the badger leads a nocturnal life, this is a very cautious animal, which tries to avoid any danger, hiding in its holes.
In forests, a badger prefers to settle in places where a lot of grass and shrubs grow. For the construction of their homes uses places with the most convenient soil for digging holes (fringes, slopes and beams).
Badger is an animal omnivorous. His diet depends on the season. He goes hunting at night. In the summer it eats mainly rodents, lizards, frogs, insects and their larvae, earthworms, slugs, mollusks, small birds, eggs. Also at this time of year eats berries, grass, mushrooms, nuts, fruits, bulbs of plants. In autumn, it often feeds on agricultural fields, eating crops, beans, corn and other cultivated plants.
Studies badger in Ukraine showed that his diet consists of more than 49 plant species and 54 species of animals. But in some countries, for example, England, the main food for badgers are earthworms, other types of forage are of secondary importance.
