AMERICAN BADGER
Taxidea taxus
- Habitat: Dry, open grasslands, fields, and pastures. They are found from high alpine meadows to sea level.
- Status: Least concern
- Population Trend: Decreasing
- Diet: Birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles, insects, and terrestrial non-insect arthropods
- Weight: 10 - 26 lbs. Females are larger than males
- Size: 1' - 2' long; 25" - 35" tall
- Lifespan: 5 - 10 years in the wild; up to 26 years in human care
- Wild population in Arizona: Unspecified
- Interesting Facts:
- American Badgers help to control rodent populations.
- American Badgers can reach a top speed of 20 mph.
- Except for the head, the American badger is covered with a grizzled, brown, black, and white coat of coarse hair or fur, giving almost a mixed brown-tan appearance. The coat aids in camouflage in grassland habitats. Its triangular face shows a distinctive black and white pattern, with brown or blackish "badges" marking the cheeks and a white stripe extending from the nose to the base of the head.
