Wednesday's Wildlife: Badgers

Sightings of the American badger are rare in Alberta. The subspecies living in our province, Taxidus taxus taxus, has been designated as a sub-species of special concern under the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC). Part of this designation comes from a lack of data on this species.  Why are American badgers so difficult to spot? What challenges are they facing? What do we know about American badgers?

Figure 1: American badger outside of its den.

One reason American badgers are difficult to spot is that they spend most of their lives underground. Signs of their foraging and denning habitats are more obvious and are sometimes seen along roadsides.  Badgers are excellent diggers, a skill they apply in hunting small mammals like ground squirrels, prairie dogs and marmots.

Figure 2: A coyote, who sometimes pairs with a badger to hunt.

Coyotes and badgers have been documented hunting together as their above and below-ground combined skills result in a higher chance of catching prey. Who knew there could be carnivore pals?

Another reason badger populations and sightings are in decline is due to a decrease in the natural grassland ecosystem which makes up their home. The badger is a keystone species in the grassland habitat; endangered species like the burrowing owl and swift fox depend on badger burrows for nesting sites and dens.

Figure 3: American badger outside of its den.

In 2023 our centre received an American badger with a broken leg, likely hit by a vehicle.

Figure 4: Badger patient at our centre with a broken leg.

As this badger patient unfortunately demonstrated, roads pose a danger to badgers. While mostly underground, badgers do emerge at night as they are nocturnal, another reason they are rarely seen. Please keep an extra eye out for badgers when driving, especially at night.

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