Badger - a species of predatory mammal in the weasel family.
It has a white head with black stripes running down the side from the nose, through the eyes to the ears is its distinctive feature. The badger's paws are armed with powerful claws, comparable to those of a bear. The body of an adult individual reaches up to 90 cm in length and 30 cm in height and weighs between 12 and 25 kg....
It leads a nocturnal life and spends the day in a burrow, which is often of a very complicated structure. There are often several winding corridors leading to the main chamber, and the entrances to them from outside are far apart. It is very clean in contrast to a fox burrow. In the mountains, badgers like to use caves and rock crevices. It throws all the waste from its burrow outside, and excretes its feces into small holes called latrines, which it digs near its burrow. With the onset of cold weather, the badger goes into winter sleep, which is not continuous, as on warming days it wakes up and comes out of its burrow. During winter sleep, the badger lives off accumulated body fat, causing it to lose up to 7 kg in weight. The burrows in which badgers live are passed down from generation to generation and serve for several decades.
Badgers are omnivorous mammals and easily adapt to the food resources in their area. They most readily eat earthworms, insects, small and young mammals, birds, grains and fruits.
Badgers purr, growl, yowl and wheeze. They are loudest during copulation. At that time, males make purring noises combined with screeching, while females screech.