Appearance 

• Stocky body with short powerful legs.
• Elongated face with a distinctive black and white pattern.
• Small round ears.
• Fur is brown, black and white.
• Body length is 60-75 cm (23.6-29.5 in), weight is 7-9 kg (15.5-19.8 lbs).
• Large fore claws, up to 5 cm (2 in) in length.

Behaviour and Habitat

• Use aggression as a defense mechanism and will snarl, hiss or bare their teeth if provoked. Typically they do this while backing away. Sometimes they move forward in an attempt to chase a threat away from their burrow.
• Use many burrows within their home range. Many of these burrows will be re-used by other animals such as other badgers, foxes and coyotes.
• Habitat is typically open grasslands where badgers can find prey. They prefer prairie regions containing sandy loam soil.
• It is rare for badgers to live within a city. They can be seen moving through urban areas during the fall when they are expanding their territory to find mates and when the young are dispersing in May and June.
• When seen in the city, it is usually in neighbourhoods close to large natural areas.
• Badgers are mostly solitary and nocturnal.
• Despite being nocturnal, badgers can be seen during the day, especially during the spring when females forage and return at night to stay with the young.
• They do not hibernate but become less active during the winter.

Diet

• Badgers are fossorial carnivores, meaning they dig and feed on animals under the ground.
• They feed predominantly on agricultural pests such as ground squirrels, pocket gophers and voles, but will also prey on other small animals, insects (including bees and honeycomb) and some vegetation.