no Order CARNIVORA 



The skull of the badger is broad in proportion to its length 

 (about 120 mm. or 4}i inches long, 85 mm. or 3}i inches wide), 

 the auditory bullae are very large, and the palate extends well 

 beyond the end of the upper molars, fig. 6\b, d. Each lower cut- 

 ting tooth (carnassial or first molar) has a prominent internal 

 cusp. Dental formula: 1 Z/i, C 1/1, Pm 3/3, M 1/2. 



Life History. — The badger lives in open country and seems 

 to prefer sand prairie, as it occurs less frequently on prairies 

 with heavier soils. It not only readily digs out the burrows of 

 ground squirrels and woodchucks but makes its own burrows. 

 In one case, a badger decided to "surface" from its burrow be- 

 neath a well-packed, frequently used macadamized road near 

 Savanna; it made an opening through the macadam as if this 

 material were no harder than soil. 



In spring the badger uses its home burrow as a nest chamber 

 in which to bring forth and care for its young, usually number- 

 ing three. In winter the animal may sleep for several days 

 during cold periods, although it never truly hibernates. 



The badger is active at night and occasionally during daylight 

 hours. It preys extensively on ground squirrels, woodchucks, 

 and meadow mice. Probably three-fourths of its food in Illinois 

 consists of mammals, most of w^hich are pests to man. It also 

 eats insects, frogs, a few birds' eggs and nestlings, and rabbits. 



Signs. — Badger tracks, fig. 36, are distinguished by long claw 

 marks of the short, broad front feet and by the narrower prints 

 of the hind feet. The prints of the front feet are each about 

 2^ inches long and 2 inches wide, and of the hind feet about 

 3 1/2 inches long and 1^ inches wide. The usual gait of the 

 badger is a shuffle, as shown by the parallel arrangement of the 

 closely spaced footprints. The width between right and left 

 prints is about 8 inches. Prints of the front feet are markedly 

 pigeon-toed. 



The burrow is 10 or more inches in diameter and usually 

 enters the ground at a steep angle. Even shallow beginnings of 

 badger burrows may be distinguished from the diggings of dogs; 

 dogs tend to scratch in only one direction, while the badger ro- 

 tates its body and digs at the side walls. A shallow digging by 

 a dog tends to be vertically oval in cross section and to have 

 relatively few claw marks on the sides and many on the bottom. 

 The badger digging tends to be horizontally oval in outline and 

 to have a high proportion of claw marks on the side walls. 



