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Badger

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Mammals

                 iBadgers
   American Badger
   American Badger
         Scientific classification

   Kingdom:   Animalia
   Phylum:    Chordata
   Class:     Mammalia
   Order:     Carnivora
   Family:    Mustelidae
   Subfamily: Melinae
              Mellivorinae
              Taxidiinae

                                   Genera

     Arctonyx
     Melogale
     Meles
     Mellivora
     Taxidea

   Badger is the common name for any animal of three subfamilies, which
   belong to the family Mustelidae: the same mammal family as the ferrets,
   the weasels, the otters, and several other types of carnivore. There
   are 8 species of badger, in three subfamilies: Melinae (the Eurasian
   badgers), Mellivorinae, (the Ratel or honey badger), and Taxideinae
   (the American badger). The Asiatic stink badgers of the genus Mydaus
   were formerly included in the Melinae, but recent genetic evidence
   indicates that these are actually Old World relatives of the skunks
   (family Mephitidae).

   Typical badgers (Meles, Arctonyx, Taxidea and Mellivora species) are
   short-legged and heavy-set. The lower jaw is articulated to the upper,
   by means of a transverse condyle firmly locked into a long cavity of
   the cranium, so that dislocation of the jaw is all but impossible. This
   enables the badger to maintain its hold with the utmost tenacity.

   Badgers are the largest indigenous carnivores in the United Kingdom.
   They are known to grow to a metre in length, but never more than 50 cm
   tall.

Name

   The name badger is possibly derived from the word badge, on account of
   the marks on the head; or it may be identical with the term noted
   below, the French blaireau being used in both senses. An older term for
   "badger" is brock ( Old English brocc), a Celtic loanword ( Gaelic
   broc, Welsh broch, from Proto-Celtic *brokko). The Proto-Germanic term
   was *þahsu- (German Dachs), likely from the PIE root *tek'- "to
   construct", so that the badger would have been named after its digging
   of setts (tunnels).

   The collective name for a group of badgers is a cete.

   Badger is the common name for any animal of three subfamilies, which
   belong to the family Mustelidae: the same mammal family as the ferrets,
   the weasels, the otters, and several other types of carnivore.

Classification

     * Family Mustelidae
          + Subfamily Lutrinae: otters
          + Subfamily Melinae
               o Hog Badger, Arctonyx collaris
               o Burmese Ferret Badger, Melogale personata
               o Oriental Ferret Badger, Melogale orientalis
               o Chinese Ferret Badger, Melogale moschata
               o Everett's Ferret Badger, Melogale everetti
               o Eurasian Badger, Meles meles
          + Subfamily Mellivorinae
               o Ratel or Honey Badger, Mellivora capensis
          + Subfamily Taxideinae:
               o American Badger, Taxidea taxus
          + Subfamily Mustelinae: weasels, martens, polecats and allies
     * 'Family Mephitidae
          +
               o Indonesian or Javan Stink Badger (Teledu), Mydaus
                 javanensis
               o Palawan Stink Badger, Mydaus marchei

Lifestyle and diet

   The behaviour of badgers differ based on family. Some are solitary,
   moving from home to home, while others are known to form clans of up to
   15.

   The badger diet also varies. The Eurasian species eat anything from
   fruit and nuts to insects, birds and lizards. The American Badger tends
   to prey on small mammals, including stoats, voles and marmots; in a
   pinch, it has also been known to eat woodpeckers. The Honey Badger
   consumes honey, porcupines and even venomous snakes (such as the puff
   adder), among others. But where they live, i dont know.

Badgers and humans

   Badgers are listed in Appendix III of the Berne Convention, but are not
   otherwise the subject of any international treaty or legislation.
   Badgers are hunted in many countries, either as a perceived pest, or
   for sport. Many badger setts in Europe were gassed during the 1960s and
   1970s to control rabies. Gassing was also practiced in the UK until the
   1980s to control the spread of bovine TB. Badgers are protected in the
   UK by the Protection of Badgers Act 1992. (An exemption allowing fox
   hunters to loosely block setts to prevent chased foxes escaping into
   them was brought to an end with the passage of the Hunting Act 2004).
   Badgers may not be killed, nor their setts interfered with, except on
   license from the government, with an exception permitting the killing
   of badgers in the attempt to eradicate bovine tuberculosis.

   Badger digging is the process of digging a badger out of its sett.
   Badger baiting dog breeds are used to locate the badger in the tunnel,
   after which the diggers attempt to dig down to the badger. If the
   badger tries to dig to escape, the dog will attack. Sometimes radio
   transmitters are attached to the dog to help in its location.

   Badger-baiting is a blood sport involving the baiting of badgers. The
   badger does not usually seek to attack, but, when driven to bay, its
   great muscular power and tough hide render it a formidable opponent.
   Consequently the animals were used in the pseudo-sport of
   badger-baiting. Weighing up to thirty-five pounds when fully grown,
   badgers have an extraordinarily dangerous bite, which they are willing
   to use recklessly when threatened. Showing itself to be a dangerous
   adversary for any dog made it a sought after participant for the
   fighting pit. In order to use the badger's ability to defend itself to
   test the dog, artificial badger dens were built, captured badgers were
   put in them and then the dog was set on the badger. The badger would be
   placed in a box, which was furnished in imitation of its den and from
   there a tunnel led upward. The owner of the badger puts his animal in
   the box. The timekeeper is equipped with a watch and the badger's owner
   releases the dog for the fight. Whoever wants to pit his dog against
   the badger let it slide into the tunnel. Usually the dog is seized
   immediately by the badger and the dog in turn grips the badger. Each
   bites, tears and pulls the other with all their might. The owner
   quickly pulls out the dog whose jaws are clamped obstinately onto the
   badger by its tail. The two are separated and the badger is returned to
   its den. Then the dog is sent back into seize the badger and it again
   drawn out with the badger. This scene is repeated over and over again.
   The more often a dog is able to seize the badger within a minute, so
   that both can be pulled out together, the more it is up to the task and
   is considered game.

   Teastas Mor is a certificate of gameness issued to a dog by the Irish
   Kennel Club. It was considered that the discipline ensured contests
   between dog and badger were fair. In the past, to become an Irish
   Kennel Club terrier champion, it was necessary for a terrier to be in
   possession of a Teastas Mor. These continued until the kennel ceased to
   license trials in 1968.

   The dachshund dog breed has a history with badgers; "dachs" is the
   German word for badgers, and dachshunds were originally bred to be
   badger hounds.

   Badgers are popular in English language fiction. Many badger characters
   are featured in author Brian Jacques' Redwall series, most often
   falling under the title of Badger Lord or Badger Mother. One such
   badger contains 'Brock' in his name. Other stories featuring badgers
   include The Boy Who Talked to Badgers (1975 movie), The Tale of Mr.
   Tod, The Wind in the Willows, The Once and Future King, The Animals of
   Farthing Wood, Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Book of Merlyn, and The
   Chronicles of Narnia. In the Harry Potter series, one of the four
   Houses, Hufflepuff, is symbolized by a badger. The character Frances in
   Russell Hoban's series of children's books is a badger. They also
   appear prominently in two volumes of Erin Hunter's Warriors: The New
   Prophecy series.

   The most prominent poem on the badger is from the Romantic period's
   John Clare. "Badger" describes a badger hunt, complete with
   badger-baiting, and treats the badger as a noble creature who dies at
   the end.

   The US State of Wisconsin is known as the "Badger State," and the
   mascot of the University of Wisconsin-Madison is the badger.

   Brock University of St.Catharines, Ontario have the badgers as their
   mascot.
   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Badger"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
