American Badger

The American Badger is a small mustelid that is known throughout the United States. Let's begin! The American Badger is 23 to 29 inches in length and stand about 9 to 12 inches tall. The American badger weighs about 9 to 26 pounds. This species is sexually dimorphic with males being larger than females. As the name includes the American Badger is widespread across North America. While they are not in all 50 states they can be found in 35 states of the United states and in all 3 territories of Canada. We've discussed this before but American Badgers and Coyotes form a mutualistic relationship when hunting. When a Coyote is hunting in the North American grasslands and a Coyote is near by hunting and underground animal the Badger will jump in and dig forcing the animal to surface while the Coyote kills the creature and In. the end they share the meal, but this is a rare occurrence. The American Badger is mainly a fossorial carnivore, this means that due to their digging they target species that are mainly found underground. They prey on Pocket Gophers, Ground squirrels, Moles, Marmots, Prairie dogs, Pika, Pack rats, Kangaroo Rats, Voles, Ground nesting birds, fish in some places, Skunks, Reptiles, Amphibians, Carrion, Sunflower seeds, and Corn. American Badgers are generally Nocturnal. Although they can be observed  foraging In daylight. Mating season Is between Summer and Fall. After that the female has one to five offspring. The Also have a Bite force of 221 Newtons. They Also have a surprising speed of up to 19 miles an hour. I hope you enjoye dlearning abou this magnificent Mustelid.