Meles meles, 1762

Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2009, Mustelidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 1 Carnivores, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 564-656 : 623-624

6.

European Badger

Meles meles

French: Blaireau d'Europe / German: Européischer Dachs / Spanish: Tején europeo

Other common names: Eurasian Badger

Taxonomy. Ursus meles Linnaeus, 1758 ,

Sweden.

Up to twenty-three subspecies have been proposed, but a taxonomic revision is needed.

Distribution. Europe, E up to Volga River, Russia; also Caucasus and Middle East from Turkey, Israel, Lebanon, and Syria, to N Afghanistan.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 56-90 cm, tail 11.5-20.2 cm; weight 10-16 kg, adult males are larger than females. The European Badger has a stocky body, with short legs and a short tail. The coarse and dense pelage is grayish, with black underparts and limbs. On each side of the face is a dark stripe that extends from the nose to the ear and encloses the eye; white stripes border the dark stripe. The tip of the ears is white. The nose is long with a large rhinarium. All the feet have strong claws. There are three pairs of mammae. Dental formula: 13/3, C1/1,P 4/4, M 1/2 = 38. Thefirst premolars are vestigial and sometimes absent.

Habitat. European Badgers are mainly found in deciduous, mixed, and coniferous woodland, hedges, scrub, riverine habitat, agricultural land, grassland, steppes, and semi-deserts. They prefer densely forested areas adjacent to open fields, up to 1700 m. Occasionally, they are found in suburban areas. In central Spain, European Badgers prefer mid-elevation mountain areas, where both dehesas (open woods with pastures) and pine forests prevail; lower elevation areas are avoided. They are associated with watercourses and prefer trees and rock covered areas. In the Swiss Jura Mountains, European Badgers use forests and wooded pastures in the winter and spring and grain fields in the summer and autumn.

Food and Feeding. The diet includes earthworms (Lumbricus terrestris) and other invertebrates (such as insects and molluscs), small mammals (mice, rabbits, rats, voles, shrews, moles, hedgehogs), birds, reptiles, amphibians, carrion, nuts, acorns, berries, fruits, tubers, and mushrooms. In forests, European Badgers rely predominantly on earthworms (on average, 62% in diets). In farmlands and pastures, earthworms and plant material (usually garden fruit and cereals) play equally important roles (34% each). In England, the main foods are earthworms, insects, fruit, and wheat; grass is also ingested in substantial quantities. Earthworms are the most frequent food items, but wheat is almost as important in terms of percentage volume. In Poland, earthworms constitute 82-89% of the biomass consumed in spring. In summer and autumn, the proportion declines to 56% in pristine forest, and to 24% in a mosaic of forests, fields, and orchards. Supplementary food items during this time are amphibians (in forests) and garden fruits (in a rural landscape). In Denmark, earthworms, small mammals, cereals, and arthropods dominate the diet. In central Switzerland, the diet comprises 55% faunal material and 45% vegetal material. Earthworms have the highest frequency of occurrence. Voles, insects, and maize are eaten during most of the year, but never in large volumes, while wasps, cherries, plums, and oats are eaten seasonally and in large volumes. In Italy, earthworms and maize are the staple foods and together account for 57% of the mean estimated volume. Earthworm consumption varies seasonally, with a marked decrease in summer; this decline is compensated by a significant increase in fruits eaten. Maize is consumed all year round with no significant seasonal variation (from 21% in summer to 44-6% in winter). Prey items include amphibians (9%) and mammals (7-2%, primarily rodents and lagomorphs). In a dry Mediterranean coastal habitat in central Italy, European Badgers feed primarily on fruits and insects (90% ofthe total amount of food eaten each year). Other less important food items include myriapods, molluscs, birds, and mammals; earthworms do not play an important role in the diet in any period ofthe year.

Activity patterns. European Badgers show crepuscular or nocturnal activity, generally starting after sunset and ending before sunrise, and are active on average for about eight hours per day. The highestlevel of activity is between 20:00 h and 03:00 h. During the day, they mainly rest in elaborate, communal burrow systems (setts) with numerous entrances, passages, and chambers, but other types of rest sites may be used. Setts may cover an area of 0-25 ha; they are used year after year and increase in complexity over time, and may eventually cover several hectares. There are two types of burrows: “main” setts (with many entrances) and small “outliers” (with usually only one entrance). Nests may be located 10 m from an entrance, 2-3 m below the surface, and have a diameter of 1- 5 m. Within a burrow system, European Badgers may utilize one nest for several months and then move to another part of the burrow. The living quarters are kept quite clean. Bedding material (dry grass, bracken, moss, or leaves) is dragged backwards into the den. Around setts, there are several dung pits, sunning grounds, and play areas. Well-defined paths, up to 2-3 km, extend from the sett to foraging areas. In south-western Spain,setts are located almost everywhere, but European Badgers prefer easily dug, well-drained soils, with good vegetation cover within foraging habitats. They select sites with high surrounding shrub density, large shrubs covering the burrow, and close to the centre of the territory. During bouts of cold weather or deep snow, European Badgers may sleep in the sett for days or weeks. In northern Europe, this winter sleep may last several months. During this period, there is a substantial drop in body temperature and the badger lives off fat reserves accumulated in the summer and autumn. In south-west Portugal, main setts are the most frequently used restsites (62:3%); however, an average of 14 other resting sites are used in each territory. Females use more than twice as many occasional resting sites as do males. Generally burrows (predominantly main setts) are most frequently used during winter and autumn, whilst non-burrow shelters are preferred during spring and summer, when the weather is hot, dry and not windy. In northern Italy, ten setts (mean number of entrances = 2-1) were detected in the study area. Each radio-collared badger used 2-3 setts, occupying one sett from one to eight months before moving to another one. All badgers shared (although in different periods) one main sett located in the inner part of their ranges.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Mean daily movement ranges from 1-2 km in England to 7 km in Poland. Average speed of movement varies from 0-3 km /h in Spain to 1- 1 km /h in Switzerland. European Badgers in Britain form clans of mutli-male and multi-female groups, of up to 23 animals (average = six). Elsewhere in their range they commonly live alone, or in pairs with either intra- or inter-sexual territories. Clans are led by a dominant male and female, and usually have more females than males. Individuals move around alone within a clan range. These ranges are marked using latrine sites and secretions from the sub-caudal glands; sometimes fights may occur at territorial boundaries. In England, many clans have ranges of 50- 150 ha, with little overlap; the minimum distance between the main burrows of clans is 300 m. In the Bialowieza Primeval Forest, Poland, the daily home range was 2- 1 km? (19% oftheir total home rangesize). The size ofterritories varied from 8-4 to 25- 5 km? (mean 12- 8 km?). The mean individual home range was 9- 3 km? and varied seasonally and among animals of different age and sex classes (from 4-24- 4 km?). Home ranges of adult badgers were significantly larger than those of subadults. European Badgers occupied larger home ranges in summer, when earthworm availability was low. They moved with an average speed of 0-9 km /hour (maximum 7- 1 km /hour). Adults of both sexes visited territory boundaries significantly more often than subadult individuals. In Denmark, home range size varied between 2-96 km? and 3-94 km?; individuals from a social group had similar home ranges (95% overlap), whereas home ranges of individuals from neighboring social groups had little overlap (1-2%). In the Swiss Jura Mountains, radio-collared European Badgers travelled up to 9460 m each night; they avoided pastures and the vicinity of houses during their night trips. The average home range size was 320 ha, but the ranging behavior varied between seasons. Den-watching, night-lighting, and radio-tracking data suggested that European Badgerslive in pairs in this wet and cold region. In an area of agricultural lowland in northern Italy, radiotracked animals showed considerable home range overlap, with an overall mean size of 3-83 km?. Population density estimates range from 0-4 to 1-5 individuals per 100 ha.

Breeding. Mating can occur year-round, but typically occurs in late winter to midsummer. Implantation of the fertilized eggs into the uterus can either be immediate or delayed for about ten months; the time of implantation seems to be controlled by light and temperature conditions. Embryonic developmentlasts six to eight weeks. The total gestation may thus be up to 9-12 months. Births occur mainly from February to March.Litter size is usually three or four, but can be as many as six. The young weigh 75 g at birth; their eyes open after one month. They nurse for 2:5 months and usually separate from the mother in the autumn. Both sexes reach sexual maturity after one year.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern in The IUCN Red List. European Badgers are generally considered common and of no special conservation concern, although declines in numbers have occurred in some areas. They sometimes damage property or consume crops, and thus are often regarded as pests and persecuted. The hair is used to make various kinds of brushes, and badger skin has been used to make rugs. European Badgers are commonly killed on roads; as many as 50,000 may be killed each year in Great Britain. They are vectors of bovine tuberculosis, which has led to controversial efforts to reduce European Badger numbers in parts of Britain.

Bibliography. Balestrieri et al. (2004), Elmeros et al. (2005), Fischer & Weber (2003), Goszczynski et al. (2000), Kowalczyk, Jedrzejewska & Zalewski (2003), Kowalczyk, Zalewski & Jedrzejewska (2004, 2006), Kowalczyk, Zalewski, Jedrzejewska & Jedrzejewski (2003), Kruuk & Parish (1987), Long & Killingley (1983), Loureiro et al. (2007), Madsen et al. (2002), Marassi & Biancardi (2002), Melis et al. (2002), Neal & Cheeseman (1996), Page et al. (1994), Palphramand et al. (2007), Pigozzi (1991), Remonti et al. (2006), Revilla & Palomares (2002), Revilla et al. (2001), Rodriguez et al. (1996), Roper (1994), Roper & Lups (1995), Roperet al. (2001), Rosalino et al. (2002), San et al. (2007), Shepherdson et al. (1990), Virgos & Casanovas (1999), Weber & Ferrari (2005), Wozencraft (2005, 2008).

Figures

1. American Badger (Taxidea taxus), 2. Honey Badger (Mellivora capensis), 3. Hog Badger (Arctonyx collars), 4. Japanese Badger (Meles anakuma), 5. Asian Badger (Meles leucurus), 6. European Badger (Meles meles)

Distribution. Europe, E up to Volga River, Russia ; also Caucasus and Middle East from Turkey , Israel , Lebanon , and Syria , to N Afghanistan .