Sub-Family MELIN^. 
Genus Meles. 
THE BADGER. 
Meles taxus, Boddaert. 
Plate i8. 
Our Common Badger, whose fossil remains found in ancient deposits 
show that his ancestors were coeval with the mammoth, appears to 
have some kinship with the Bear, and like that animal is plantigrade, 
placing the soles of the feet on the ground when moving. 
The length of a full-grown Badger is about 28 to 30 inches from 
nose to root of tail, the latter measuring another 7 or 8 inches. The colour 
of the coat is chiefly a warm grizzly grey, the cheeks and forehead 
white, with a black band extending from near the nose to behind the 
ears, which are white at the tips. The throat, chest, under parts, legs, and 
feet are black. The thickset brawny body, powerful jaws, and long sharp 
claws of the Badger make him a formidable foe and a match for almost any 
dog large enough to enter his stronghold, and as none of our wild animals 
care to molest him, he leads on the whole a peaceful life. 
Our Common Badger inhabits northern Europe and Asia, and also the 
greater part of the British Islands, though apparently not in such numbers 
as formerly. However, it may often exist in a district where its presence 
is not suspected, owing to its nocturnal habits and love of seclusion. 
It is certainly a common animal in parts of Surrey, where its earths are 
numerous, and from these strongholds it nightly makes forays, leaving 
68 
