American Badger vs European Badger: How to Identify? – RocWildLife

Badgers are quite a widespread popular defense animal around the world. Badgers are specifically a type of mammals. Both in America and Europe the countryside, they are pretty common to find. However, being the same animal, these are different in two lands.

Badgers in this area are different by physical features and strength, lifespan, Hebetate, and diet. One of them is super violent, and another one is less aggressive and playful. It is not that easy to differentiate two types of badgers at one glance only. 

There are so many interesting questions and ideas over American badger vs European badger. If you know the core differences, then it is instant to recognize any badger types regarding their body type and movement. 

How to identify American badgers?

American badgers are also known as North American Badgers. These are found in the western, central and northeastern areas of America, Columbia, Manitoba and Canada.

They are small in size but belong to the most prominent family of carnivores named “Mustelidae”. Their diet is rats, mice, snakes, birds, squirrels. They survive on meat-type animals only. 

However, American badgers are comparatively less strong. They are not suitable as pets. Instead, they are trained for defense only. 

They generally have thick skin. They have brown/ black loose fur all over their bodies. Their long sharp teeth are perfect for hunting. American badgers have triangular-shaped faces that are perfect for digging into the soil. Short legs, sharp claws, white strips ( nose to back), flat body, stumpy tails are the most common features of American badgers. They are only 42 to 76 cm inches tall and have about 16 cm tails. 

American badger can damage your property. You can contact critter control to get rid of badger problems.

Apart from their physical features, you can also identify them through smell. They generally have a stinky and musky odor. 

Also, they are not preferable for pets; American badgers are adorable. Their fluffy appearance and short legs make their walks super cute. An interesting fact about American badgers is, they have surprisingly good bonds with coyotes for hunting. But you’ll find them spending most of their time alone and living separately. In every km, you’ll get five animals only.

How to identify European badger:

European badgers also belong to the Mustelidae family and are widely found in the countryside of Europe, even in the western part of Asia.  

They are generally black/ brown/ white in appearance. European badgers are neither tiny nor huge. They are medium-sized animals with high strength. Their length is around 46 to 90 cm without measuring the tail. Their tails are quite pointed and fluffy as well.

Although these are not perfect for keeping as a pet, European badgers are known as social animals. They even look super friendly and playful. They are mostly found living together. About 20 badgers are roaming together in one place. 

For helping injured badgers in the UK, please contact – RSPCA.

European badgers are identified by their dark stripes over noses. The nose has a white stripe in the middle. European badgers have shorter limbs and non-retractable claws. But with their aging, claws are worn out. They have comparatively smaller eyes and shorter-sized ears. THeur thick necks, claws and nails are 

They live on both plants and meats. You’ll see them eating bird’s eggs, plants, fruits, worms, snakes, carrion, rabbits, cereals and even lizards. 

American badger vs European badger:

American and European badgers are common, belong to the same species but are different in many ways. From their diet to their living, everything is different. Both of them are not good pets but for hunting and defending. 

This is a pretty interesting thing to dig on. 

Habitation:  American badgers are widely found in North America, the western part of the USA, Mexico mountains, and the central part of Canada. And European badgers are found in the Western part of Asia and Europe.

Diet: The diet of American badgers is specific, and it is only meat. However, the European badgers intake both fruits, plants and meats.

Strength: American badgers are comparatively less strong than European badgers. They are tenfold to be bigger and stronger as well. 

Lifespan: American badgers live about five years only. But they live their entire life as wildest. But European badgers live twice as long as American ones. They survive around 6 to 16 years. With their aging, they will be weakened.

Size: European badgers are comparatively larger in size in America. American badgers are 9 inches long and 4 to 12 kg in weight. The European badgers weigh 12 kg and 42 to 76 cm in length. 

Friendliness: American badgers are known as solitary animals, and on the contrary, European animals are social animals. 

Apart from all those similarities, these are a few, but most highlighted differences to mark on. If you know these differences well, you won’t have any issue recognizing any particular type of badgers in a minute. 

Related: Newborn Squirrel vs. Rat: Know the facts

Frequently Asked Questions:

Question: When do badgers give birth?

Answer: Badgers generally give birth between January to march. It is the middle or later time of winter. They seem to give birth to around five or fewer babies at once.

Question: Can I get American badgers in Europe? 

Answer: Well, you can find American badgers in different parts of America. But it is difficult to find in Europe. Even if they are found, the number is really minimal.

Wrap up:

Belonging from the same species, American and European badgers are quite different types of animals. They need variety in living and surviving. And these differences belong in other areas of the world. 

European and American badgers are mostly confusing ones as they have similar kinds of features as well. Regarding their different strength level, European badgers seem to defeat American ones. But regarding American Badgers’ aggressive behaviour, they are most likely to be the winners. However, they are hardly found together as their habitation is far away from one another.