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Taxidea taxus
A pair of American Badgers out for a stroll on a dirt road just outside of town (Battle Lake, Minnesota). I believe these may be two, young Badgers that have just left their Mother's den and are out on their own for the first time (due to size, curiosity level and lack of fear of cars or humans) but I could be wrong.
Open grasslands, sandy loam soils and prairies.
Spotted on Jul 21, 2011
Submitted on Apr 15, 2012
27 Comments (1–25)
Thanks
animalexpert-Thank you!!!!! "-)
That's cool!!!!!
Jeannette-Thank you so much! :-)
Lovely series too :)
Gerardo-Thank you!!! :-)
al-ee-oop They are, aren't they?! Just sharing in the hope my story may help someone else (scientist or spotter) some day. :-))) Thank you!
Noah Citizen-Thank you so much! I was thrilled both times (spotting and SOTD). "-)))
That's really a wonderful series. Congrat for your spotting of the day!
Cute story, and Beautiful animal! :)
Congratulations Janelle!
Wonderful spotting!
Thank you everyone! I was very fortunate to find this pair out walking along a dirt road just outside of town near CREP (Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program) land and pasture/farm fields. I believe they may have just left their den and were youngsters (based on their size and being found together). I knew almost nothing about Badgers, other than what I'd seen once on Wild Kratz (PBS) of Honey Badgers, so was very cautious and more than a bit nervous as they approached the car we were sitting in. When I first saw them I thought (from a distance) they were raccoons. As we slowly approached I realized they were some kind of Badger. It was a very hot, humid day so all the car windows were open with Michael Jackson's "killer" song playing on the radio. I was surprised by their lack of fear (car engine noise, music playing, grandson talking in the backseat) and what appeared to be curiosity. When we first saw them, they were together on the dirt road. Later one of them lay down on the road (acting injured or sick?) as the other slowly approached us alongside the road through the tall grasses/weeds. When the second one got uncomfortably close (too close to use my 70-300mm lens on), we started slowly pulling forward, at which point the closer of the two stepped away from the car and into the ditch. The first one stayed laying on the road until we were about 3-4' away then scurried into the ditch as well. Had all the car windows not been rolled down (hand-crank), had my 2 1/2 year-old grandson not been in the car and had I known more about them and their (climbing/jumping) abilities I could have stayed and savored this rare photo/learning opportunity and satiated my own curiosity. As it was, caution won out after a dozen or so images. They're very interesting animals and are worthy of our respect and caution. Thanks again for all the wonderful comments, welcomes and for selecting them on your daily sightings spotlight (?). Happy spotting everyone!
Amazing pictures
Congrats, wonderful photos and spotting!
Wonderful series!
Welcome to Project Noah Janelle!
Awesome, well done! : )
Congratulations
Nice Spotting ... Cngrts !!
congrats on sotd!
Great pictures!
Congratulations with spotting of the day
Congratulations and welcome Janelle!
Janelle, welcome to Project Noah and congratulations for earning a Spotting of the Day with this great series!
"The American Badger is stocky and low-slung with short, powerful legs that are identifiable by their huge foreclaws and distinctive head markings."
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Very cool series!
Lucky you! A Wonderful spotting! (or the last picture first)
Awesome spotting!