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European Badger

Meles meles

European Badger – Wildlife Explorer Collectible

Wildlife Explorer collectible · European Badger

🦡 Discover the European Badger

The European badger lives in forests, hedgerows, grasslands, and small-scale landscapes, and is primarily active at dusk and night.

🔎 At a glance

  • Animal group: Mammal
  • Region: Europe
  • Conservation status: Least Concern (LC)
  • Diet: Omnivore — mainly earthworms

🌲 Where does it live?

Badgers live in "setts": underground burrow systems that are sometimes used and expanded by the same family for generations.

🌰 What does it eat?

Earthworms make up the largest part of their diet, supplemented by insects, small animals, fruit, and roots.

🌙 How it lives

Badgers live in family groups (clans) in their sett and are mainly active at night. They are strong diggers with powerful claws.

✨ Special features of this animal

The recognizable black-and-white head stripes and the impressive setts — sometimes with dozens of entrances and kilometers of tunnels — make the badger unique.

💡 Did you know?

  • A badger sett can be used by the same family for generations.
  • Badgers are surprisingly good swimmers.
  • They mark their territory with a communal "latrine" system.
  • A family group often shares the same sett.

🌿 Threats & protection

The species is listed as Least Concern (LC) and is not globally threatened. Traffic and the disappearance of small-scale landscapes can, however, put local pressure on populations.

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