578 



REPORT OF STATE GEOLOGIST. 



Description. — The legs are very short and placed wide apart so 

 that the body is carried low and, except for the fact that the back 

 is somewhat rounded, the animal looks as though it had been 

 stepped on and mashed. The back is always grizzled with black 

 and yellow, but the color varies greatly. In some individuals the 

 general effect is a deep, rusty brown ; in others it is paler yellow 

 and in some a gray, not dissimilar to that of the rabbit ; middle of 

 back darker, as are also the sides of the face and legs; white line 

 from the nose to the top of the head or nape of the neck. The hair 

 is coarse and long. 



Measnrcnwiits. — I have no detailed measurements. The total 

 length as given hy Baird is al)()ut 27 inches; tail 5 inches. 



Skull a)Kl teeth. — The skull is broad and tlat, bearing some re- 

 semblance to that of an otter in its general shape. However, the 

 zygomatic arches are not so spreading and the braincase is as 

 broad as the arches. The teeth are strong, the upper molars being 

 rounded, the last upper premolar large and triangular and the 

 others small and simple. The outer upper incisor is considerably 

 larger than the other two. 



Bange. — From Ohio west to the Rocky Mountains or farther. 

 Some of the subspecies are found throughout all of western North 

 America, from southern Mexico to about 55 degrees north latitude. 



The badger has never been very abundant in Indiana. Ever- 

 mann and Butler give the following localities and dates: One 

 killed five miles south of Newport, Vermillion County, in 1880. 

 One was caught in Lagrange County in 1887, arfd three others in 

 the same county within a few years previous. One was caught in 

 the eastern part of Elkhart County in 1888. In 1880 a black one 

 was taken in Noble County. July 28, 1889, a badger was killed 

 near Metamora, Franklin County, and two others were said to 

 have been killed in 1888. These authors also report it from Grant, 

 Kosciusko, Steuben and Dekalb counties. Butler later reported it 

 from Newton County. 



I have very little to add to this record. l*rof. Van Gorder says 

 the badger was sui)posed for* a long time to be extinct in Noble 

 County, but that he saw one taken in Green township in the spring 

 of 1895, and one or two have been reported in the county since 

 that time. Mr. T. N. Laiiil) saw one near English Lake in 1871. 

 INIrs. Anderson mcMitions Iheir occurrence in Uenton (bounty and 

 Mr. Li)son saw one in Lagrange ('ounty in the spring oC 1908. 



Hahits. — The Iwdger digs extensive undergi'ound tunnels in the 

 prairie. He is a nocturnal animal and is seldom seen in the day- 



