THE AMERICAN BADGER 673 



characterized by the unusually large size of the molar tooth of the upper jaw, 

 and likewise by the elongation of the posterior heel of the flesh-tooth of the 

 lower jaw. 



In the American badger the skull is very wide posteriorly, the body depressed, 

 and the tail very short. The skull may be at once distinguished from that of the 

 true badgers by the proportionately larger size of the upper flesh-tooth, and the 

 smaller upper molar, which is triangular in form, with the apex directed outward. 

 The fore-claws are enormous, the eyes are very small, and the muzzle is hairy right 

 up to the obliquely truncated nostrils. The low, rounded, and broad ears are re- 

 markable for the large size of their apertures. In length the animal, from the snout 

 to the root of the tail, measures about twenty-four inches, and the tail six inches. 

 The general color of the coarse fur of the body is a blackish grizzle, mingled with 

 either white, gray, or tawny, or the whole of these together, on the upper parts, while 

 below it is uniformly whitish, sometimes shaded with gray or tawny. The head is 

 darker than the body, with a white stripe down the middle, and the limbs are black- 

 ish brown. 



The ordinary form of the American badger extends from British 

 North America, from at least latitude 58, over the greater portion of 

 the United States. Near the Mexican border, as in Eastern and Central Mexico 

 itself, it is, however, replaced by a variety distinguished by a white stripe, some- 

 times interrupted, running down the back from the nose to the tail. 



In habits the American badger appears to closely resemble the corn- 

 Habits ^ , . 



mon European species, being strictly nocturnal, and living in burrows 



constructed by itself. In the colder portion of its habitat it hibernates. Although 

 but very seldom seen, Dr. Coues states that these animals live in countless numbers 

 in the region of the upper Missouri river and its tributaries; tracts of sandy soil be- 

 ing so full of their burrows as to render traveling on horseback dangerous. These 

 badger holes can be distinguished from those of the prairie marmot by their larger 

 size and the absence of a circular mound of earth at their entrance; though many 

 such holes are merely burrows of the prairie marmot, which have been enlarged by 

 the badger in order to capture the original excavator. This abundance of the Amer- 

 ican badger is doubtless largely due to its immunity from foes and the plentiful sup- 

 ply of food. 



In addition to the various species of Rodents, which form its principal food, the 

 American badger will also eat smaller animals, even insects and snails, while it 

 is also partial to birds' eggs and to bees' nests with their honey and larvae. In dis- 

 position it is shy and retiring, always seeking to avoid rather than to court danger. 

 If brought to bay, it will fight with all the fierceness and stubbornness characteris- 

 tic of its European cousin, and it also exhibits the same tenacity of life. In some 

 parts of the Western States badger baiting used to be as favorite a sport as it once 

 was in England, but it is now discontinued. 



But little appears to have been ascertained as to the breeding habits of the Amer- 

 ican badger, but it seems that three or four is the usual number in a litter. In Brit- 

 ish North America the period of hibernation lasts from October till April, and the 

 animals are said to come forth after their long fast in good condition. 

 43 



