English: Badger; French: Blaireau; Albanian: Vjedulla; Bulgarian: Jasowez; Czech: Jezevec (lesni); Croatian: Jazavec; Danish: Graevling; Estonian: Mäger; Dutch: Das; Finnish: Mäyrä; Greel: Asvos; Hungarian: Borz; Italian: Tasso; Irish: Broc; Japanese: Nihon-anaguma; Korean: Osori; Lettish: Apsis; Lithuanian: Barsukas; Mongol: Dorgo; Montenigrin: Jasovec; Norwegian: Grevling; Pashto: Gurkach; Polish: Borsuk; Portuguese: Teixugo; Romanian: Bursuc, Viezure; Russian: Borssuk; Swedish: Grävling; Serb: jasavac; Slovakian: jazvec (lesny); Slovenian: jazbec; Spanish: Tejón; Turkish: porsuk; Urdu: Bijjoo.
Former distribution: Europe and Asia to China, Korea and Japan.
Present distribution: As formerly, except northern Scandinavia, Iceland, Corsica, Sardinia and Sicily. South to Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Iran, Tibet (Xizang) and southern China, Burma, northern Vietnam.
Behaviour: Preferred habitat: mainly forests, open woodlands, parks, mountainous and rocky areas in moderate climates. Activity predominantly nocturnal, also at twilight. They are omnivorous, eating various small prey, worms, young rabbits, mice, beetles, larvae, eggs, young birds, all kinds of plants and fruit, also carrion. They are gregarious, and hibernate in the northern areas of their range i.e. Scandinavia, Poland and northern USSR.
Population status: Stable.
Brief notes:
Body weight: 10-20 kg
Head and body length: 60-95 cm
Tail length: 15-19 cm
Shoulder height: 20-30 cm
Gestation period: 4-12 months
Maximum age: 25 years in captivity
Trophy: Skull length 11.7 cm, width 7.5 cm; CIC: 19.2 points.
Hunting methods: With terriers, dachshounds in the setts (burrows), traps and from a hide.
Subspecies: 14
1. Meles m. meles
2. Meles m. heptneri Southern USSR, Caspian
3. Meles m. canescens Transcaucasia, Turkmeniya
4. Meles m. severtzovi Altai-Pamir System
5. Meles m. sibiricus Siberia, Transbaikal, Altai and Mongolia
6. Meles m. arenarius Wolga-Ural step, Kazakhstan
7. Meles m. tianschanensis Tienshan, Dsungarei
8. Meles m. amurensis Ussuri, Korea, Heilung-jiang (Manchuria)
9. Meles m. anakuma Japan
10. Meles m. leucurus East Xizang (Tibet), Mongolia, China
11. Meles m. blanfordi Kaschgaria
12. Meles m. marianensis Spain, Portugal
13. Meles m. marcalus Crete
14. Meles m. rhodius Rhode Island
Remarks: All subspecies should be reconfirmed; the geographical variation is enormous, and it is therefore suggested that we recognize 3 groups (acc, HEPTNER 1974):
1. European badgers Meles m. meles
2. Siberian badgers Meles m. arenarius-leptorhynchus
3. Far Eastern badgers Meles m. amurensis-anakuma
