The American badger (Taxidea taxus) is a member of the weasel family that primarily resides in the Great Plains region of North America. This animal prefers to live in grasslands, montane meadows, fields, and pastures with ample rodent prey. With its wide open valleys and abundance of rodent species, Valles Caldera proves to be ideal habitat for the American badger.

Habitat

• Prefers open areas like grasslands.
• Adapted to eat prairie dogs, ground squirrels, pocket gophers, and other small rodents; will also eat ground-nesting birds and their eggs. Average badger needs to eat about two ground squirrels or pocket gophers a day to maintain its weight. Digs burrows in pursuit of prey.
• Adults preyed on by mountain lions and bears. Coyotes and eagles will prey on young.

Behavior

• Mostly solitary except in mating season (summer and early fall). Have delayed implantation; active gestation starts around February.
• Excavated dens are used for daytime resting sites, food storage, and giving birth. Typically have one entrance, marked by a mound of soil. May be inactive in their dens for up to a month in winter, but they are not true hibernators.
• Mostly active at night. May live up to 14 years.