page_title: American badger
section_title: Life cycle
hierarchical_section_title: American badger / Life cycle
caption_attribution_description: English: American Badger sleeping at the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha, Nebraska.
context_page_description: The American badger is a North American badger, similar in appearance to the European badger although not closely related. It is found in the western and central United States, northern Mexico, and south-central Canada to certain areas of southwestern British Columbia.
  The American badger's habitat is typified by open grasslands with available prey. The species prefers areas such as prairie regions with sandy loam soils where it can dig more easily for its prey.
context_section_description: Badgers are normally solitary animals, but are thought to expand their territories in the breeding season to seek out mates. Mating occurs in late summer and early fall, with some males breeding with more than one female. American badgers experience delayed implantation, with pregnancies suspended until December or as late as February. Young are born from late March to early April in litters ranging from one to five young, averaging about three.
  Badgers are born blind, furred, and helpless. Eyes open at four to six weeks. The female feeds her young solid foods prior to complete weaning, and for a few weeks thereafter. Young American badgers first emerge from the den on their own at five to six weeks old. Families usually break up and juveniles disperse from the end of June to August; young American badgers leave their mothers as early as late May or June. Juvenile dispersal movements are erratic.
  Most female American badgers become pregnant for the first time after they are a year old. A minority of females four to five months old ovulate and a few become pregnant. Males usually do not breed until their second year.
  Large predators occasionally kill American badgers. The average longevity in the wild is 9–10 years, with a record of 14; a captive example lived at least 15 years and five months.
caption: American badger at Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo
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