page_title: European badger
section_title: Tameability
hierarchical_section_title: European badger / Relationships with humans / Tameability
caption_attribution_description: English: Seen at the British Wildlife Centre, Newchapel, Surrey. After the Keeper's talk, Laura brought out orphaned cub 'Honey'; seen here, in a break between nibbling Laura's ears.
context_page_description: The European badger, also known as the Eurasian badger, is a badger species in the family Mustelidae native to almost all of Europe and some parts of Western Asia. It is classified as least concern on the IUCN Red List as it has a wide range and a large stable population size, and is thought to be increasing in some regions. Several subspecies are recognized with the nominate subspecies predominating in most of Europe. In Europe, where no other badger species commonly occurs, it is generally just called "badger".
  The European badger is a powerfully built black, white, brown and grey animal with a small head, a stocky body, small black eyes and short tail. Its weight varies, being 7–13 kg in spring but building up to 15–17 kg in autumn before the winter sleep period. It is nocturnal and is a social, burrowing animal that sleeps during the day in one of several setts in its territorial range. These burrows have multiple chambers and entrances, and are extensive systems of underground passages of 35–81 m length. They house several badger families that use these setts for decades.
context_section_description: There are several accounts of European badgers being tamed. Tame badgers can be affectionate pets, and can be trained to come to their owners when their names are called. They are easily fed, as they are not fussy eaters, and will instinctively unearth rats, moles and young rabbits without training, though they do have a weakness for pork. Although there is one record of a tame badger befriending a fox, they generally do not tolerate the presence of cats and dogs, and will chase them.
caption: A tame orphan badger with keeper
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