American Badger jacksoni subspecies

Taxidea taxus jacksonii

Little is know of the American badger's habits. It is primarily a fossorial animal with long claws for digging. Spending its time alone except for mating season, the badger lives in a large burrow which has often been taken over from prairie dogs or ground squirrels. It is primarily nocturnal, and unlike other members of the weasel family, the badger hibernates during the winter months. Its food consists of squirells, gophers, prairie dogs, and mice, as well as snails and insects. A very quick and powerful adversary, the badger's only predator is man. While its pelt is no longer valued commercially, the badger's burrows are problematic for farmers and horsemen. As a result, its numbers have been greatly reduced in the Canadian prairies and farmlands where they were once common.