Badgers
Author: Ray Bowers

Click on Picture for Larger Image

Scientific Name: Taxidea taxus Common Name: Badger Spanish Name: Tejón

Description:
Badgers have a stout body that is wider then it is high. They are 20˝ to 34 inches long. Their ears are 2 inches long and their bushy yellowish tail is 5 inches long. Badgers usually weigh 20 pounds. Badgers have shaggy gray coats and they have triangular shaped head with black and white markings. They have bowed legs and black paws. Their front paws have long claws.

Geographic range:
Badgers are found from Southern California east to Central Texas, and from Central Canada south to Central Mexico. They are found throughout New Mexico, wherever they can make their homes.

Habitat:
Badgers are common in the open country of New Mexico, such as deserts and grasslands, and even in mountain meadows.

Food Web:
Badgers feed on a variety of burrowing rodents, but they will also eat insects and reptiles. They will also feed on any dead animals they find. The adults are intimidating and are not usually bothered by other predators.

Reproduction and Development:
Mating occurs in August or September, but the development of the embryo (the young before birth) is delayed because it has not been implanted in the womb. This is called delayed implantation. Only when the embryo is implanted in January can it begin to develop and be born. The females dig deep burrows that are lined with grass, where they give birth in April or May. Usually two young are born, but the number can vary from one to five. The female takes care of the young without the help of the male. The young stop nursing after two months and leave their mother in late summer or early fall.

Behavior:
Badgers hunt rodents by themselves and can dig rapidly to find their prey. They are nocturnal, but they may be seen in the morning or dusk in remote areas. The adults may travel great distances in search of rodents. Badgers usually dig new burrows every day, but during the winter months they sleep for days living on fat they have stored within their bodies. If attacked the badgers' thick fur, tough skin, its strong jaws and long claws make it a tough enemy. On top of all of that, it can also release a skunk-like odor.

Ecosystem roles: Badgers are important rodent predators, and their presence usually goes a long with a large burrowing rodent population.

Taxonomy:

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Mustelidae
Genus: Taxidea
Species: Taxidea taxus

References:
Burt, William Henry; and Richard Philip Grossenheider. 1976. A Field Guide to the Mammals 3rd ed. (Peterson Field Guide Series; no. 5). Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 289 p., 47 plates.

Cockrum, E. Lendell; and Yar Petryszyn. 1992. Mammals of the Southwestern United States and Northwestern Mexico. Tucson: Treasure Chest Publications, 192 p.

Findley, James S. 1987. The Natural History of New Mexican Mammals. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 164 p.

Findley, James S.; Arthur H. Harris; Don E. Wilson; and Clyde Jones. 1975. Mammals of New Mexico. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 360 p.

MacMahon. James A.1985. Deserts. New York: Alfred A Knopf, Inc.