Information on the Typical Badger Habitat
The average badger habitat is not simply a den lined with leaves as some people may imagine. These little woodland critters are extremely gifted architects and utilize these innate skills to create intricate and expansive homes in some cases. This article provides extensive badger habitat information to the reader in an effort to educate and inform.
Badger Habitat Locations
Badgers can be found in many places throughout the world. They prefer to make their homes throughout America, Europe, and Asia. In the American regions they can be found north throughout the Canadian Prairie Provinces, all the way down through the Mexican Plateau. As far as the United States go, they prefer to set up residence in the western and central areas, particularly the Great Lakes states.
Badgers are also found in Europe and Asia as well. They can be found in parts of Japan, Vietnam, and parts of China, as well as much of Europe. In the UK they are found in many of the counties. In particular they like to find riverbanks with loose soil that can be dug out easily.
Regardless of what country or continent they call home, badgers look for certain types of areas to set up dens and settes. They have incredibly powerful digging claws, but even so, avoid heavily wooded areas and places where the soil is thick with clay. Grazed pastures are an ideal location, as are riverbanks in areas that don’t flood too much. The soil tends to be easily removed and sifted and can provide a great deal of food for a hungry badger.
American Badger Habitats
American badgers, while not as architecturally artistic as their European cousin, are still impressive homemakers. They lead nomadic lifestyles and every couple of days will leave their homes to build a new burrow. The typical American badger habitat is 15 – 30 feet deep, with one eye (entrance).
While this seems like an incredible amount of work, it is made easier by the back that badgers look for areas with soft soil and no trees. The trees would make it more difficult to dig, due to troublesome root systems that may get in the way of the badger tunnel.
Despite all this work, the badger will leave its home with a day or two. This is not because the tunnel collapses, as some may suggest. Rather, it is because the badger is an adept rodent hunter as well. It is so good, in fact, that it can completely eradicate a rodent population within a couple days. When the food supply disperses or is eaten, the badger simply moves along and finds another site to dig.
European Badger Habitats
European badgers and their homes differ greatly from American ones. Unlike American badgers, European badgers can remain in the same home throughout the course of their life. In fact, a European badger warren, or sette, can be active for decades. European badgers, while they certainly enjoy rodents, also have a large dietary supplement of grubs and worms. This may be one of the reasons they are able to remain in the same place for extended amounts of time.
The truly amazing thing about European badger habitats is the sheer magnitude and intricacy of them. European badgers live in groups; they are not solitary creatures. This means that they must have a home large enough to suit a badger population. Similar to rabbit warrens, European badgers set up extensive systems of subterranean tunnels and catacombs. Some of these systems, very few actually, are reputed to be centuries old.
The tunnels are not just a means of transportation for the European badger. In fact, similar to ant habitats, the tunnels act as linking channels to nesting chambers, breeding chambers, sleeping quarters, and even bathroom-like facilities. Most settes have several entrances and hidden exits.