American badger
| Badger Temporal range: Pleistocene – Recent
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| American badger | |
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The American badger (Taxidea taxus) is an animal usually found in the Great Plains area of North America.[1]
It looks similar to the European badger, but it is not closely related to them.[2] It is found in the western, central, and eastern United States, northern Mexico, and south-central Canada.
The American badger's habitat lives in open grasslands eating prey (such as mice, squirrels, and groundhogs). The badger likes areas such as prairies with sandy loam soils where it can dig easily for its prey. They are found in many places from high alpine meadows to sea level.
American badgers are excellent diggers, and can tunnel rapidly through the soil using their powerful forelimbs.
Badgers are carnivorous. Unlike many carnivores that stalk their prey in open country, badgers catch most of their food by digging. They can tunnel after ground-dwelling rodents with amazing speed.
References
[change | change source]- ↑ Mammal species of the world : a taxonomic and geographic reference (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. 2005. ISBN 0-8018-8221-4. OCLC 57557352.
- ↑ Long, Charles A. 1972. Taxonomic revision of the North American badger, Taxidea taxus. Journal of Mammalogy. 53 (4): 725–759.