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European badger

From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

European badger
Temporal range: Mid-Pleistocene–Recent
Scientific classification
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M. meles
Binomial name
Meles meles
European badger range

The European badger (Meles meles) is a species of badger. Its genus is Meles. It is native to almost all of Europe. It is classed as Least Concern for extinction by the IUCN because of its wide distribution and large population.

The European badger is a social, burrowing animal. It eats a wide variety of plants and animals. It is very fussy over the cleanliness of its burrow, and defecates in latrines. It is known of European badgers that they bury their dead family members. Although they are ferocious when provoked, the European badger is generally a peaceful animal. It has been known to share its burrows with other species such as rabbits, red foxes and raccoon dogs. Although it does not usually prey on domestic animals, the species is sometimes reported to damage livestock through spreading bovine tuberculosis.

Reference

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  1. Kranz, A., Tikhonov, A., Conroy, J., Cavallini, P., Herrero, J., Stubbe, M., Maran, T., Fernades, M., Abramov, A. & Wozencraft, C. (2008). "Meles meles". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2008. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 21 March 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is of least concern

Other websites

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