Posts tagged as:

badger

Chinese Ferret Badger (Melogale moschata)

by JR Kinyak on August 11, 2008

in Carnivores

click image to enlarge

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The smallest member of the badger family, the Chinese ferret badger lives not only in China but in Assam, in northeastern India, as well. They live in burrows and come out in the evenings, going about their business into the night. The Chinese ferret badger occasionally eats fruit, but it especially loves small rodents, amphibians, and insects and other invertebrates. In some cultures, Chinese ferret badgers are welcomed into the home and encouraged to feast on any cockroaches they might find. This is a nice service to provide, but they may not be the most pleasant of house guests: like most other members of the mustelid clan, Chinese ferret badgers emit an offensive odor from their anal glands when provoked.

Consecutive days of mammals: 2
Record: 16

Tagged as: badger, humans

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Teledu (Indonesian Stink Badger) (Mydaus javanensis)

by JR Kinyak on January 20, 2008

in Carnivores


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This teledu is for Chris and for Croydon. Teledus are related to badgers and to skunks. This one lives in Sumatra and Java. Among other things, it eats earthworms. Its generic name means wet, damp, and moldy substance, which brings me to the most special thing about the stink badger: it shoots a green liquid from its anal glands. It smells so bad it can asphyxiate other animals (and cause blindness if it hits ‘em in the eyes). According to Mammalian Species, this secretion is used in perfumes in Java!

Mydaus javanensis species account from Mammalian Species (PDF)

Buy this drawing at the Daily Mammal Original Art Shop

Tagged as: badger

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Eurasian Badger (Meles meles)

by JR Kinyak on December 17, 2007

in Carnivores

Please consider contributing at least $25 to Defenders of Wildlife to get your own original Daily Mammal art! Read more about 24 Mammals in 24 Hours!

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This species of badger lives in Europe and Asia, and is highly popular in England. In a way, it’s the British version of the American raccoon, getting into people’s gardens and trash cans and whatnot (rubbish bins, I think they’d call them), only the badger seems to be much more beloved than the raccoon. People actually try to attract them to their gardens, and it’s illegal, in the UK, to kill a badger or to disturb a badger’s sett, which is an underground burrow where a group of badgers lives. Each group or clan is made up of about 12 badgers. They’re very gregarious mammals.

Here’s a website where you can listen to a variety of different sounds that badgers make and read what each sound signifies.

(Yesterday was Ted’s birthday, so I took the day off from mammals to celebrate!)

Tagged as: badger, humans

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