The European Badger
Meles meles

The Badger is a stocky animal and is the same dimension as a medium-sized dog with a withers height of 30 cm.
Its weight varies considerably depending on the season: the male generally weighs 9-20 kg and the female 6.5-14 kg.
It is the only member of the mustelids family to have a stocky appearance: a large body, sturdy legs and a short tail.
Its fur (grey and of thin consistency) covers its whole body.
Its head is white with two distinctive black lines from slightly above the muzzle and encompassing the eyes and ears which give the badger its trademark.
The tips of the ears are white.
It lives in both deciduous woods and open pastures but is more common where both habitats are present.
As far as altitudinal distribution is concerned the European Badger does not extend significantly beyond the line of trees.
Badgers are the most sociable of mustelids.
They live in setts made up of extensive networks of underground tunnels with several openings to the ground.
These are often used and widened by subsequent generations and consequently there is a larger quantity of detritus piled up outside the entrance.
Each entrance has a diameter of about 20 cm and the huge accumulation of earth in front of it which makes it easy to recognise, usually contains characteristic black and white fur.
The badger is mainly a nocturnal animal.
It has an extremely varied diet; it is omnivorous in the summer and autumn and becomes carnivorous in the winter when it dedicates itself almost entirely to the hunt for earthworms.
It also occasionally feeds on insects (dung beetles, wasps and scarab beetles), molluscs, voles, moles, frogs, carrion and plants (bulbs, fruits, weeds, acorns and mushrooms).
It explores the environment meticulously with its nose to the ground zigzagging in all directions in search of food.
The badger is less active during cold winters but does not hibernate.