One of the 4 badgers on WAnimals
Mammals · Carnivora · Mustelidae
Asian Badger
Meles leucurus
Least Concern
The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk.
The Asian badger is a burrowing mustelid distributed from the Urals to China, Korea and eastern Russia. It was separated from the European badger as a species of its own on the basis of genetic and cranial studies: it is somewhat smaller, paler in tone and with narrower, more diffuse dark facial stripes. It digs setts that it may use for generations, is omnivorous with a preference for earthworms, and in the colder parts of its range it lays down fat and spends the winter dormant inside the burrow.
Weight
3.5 kg – 9 kg
Size
50 cm – 70 cm
Life expectancy
10 years
