09 Feb Badgers: What are they good for?
By Nolan Ball, Special Areas Board Agrologist
The American Badger, the nocturnal neighbor that we rarely see except for their above ground landmarks in the form of a horse-riding hazard or head banging bump in the field.
Listed provincially as a sensitive* species in Alberta, (*provincial listing under the Alberta Wildlife Act) the badger is not currently at risk, but may require special attention to maintain a healthy population and prevent it from becoming at risk of extirpation or extinction. The loss of the badger could have detrimental effects on other species at risk that depend on the activity of this elusive critter. The badgers’ well adapted digging mechanisms allow them to excavate burrows as long as 9 meters and up to 3 m in depth. The burrow provides food storage; birthing and young raising; foraging activities; shelter during daylight hours when badgers normally aren’t active and during periods below -15 C when prey is not abundantly found. The badger does not hibernate, but rather they enter torpor – a period of reduced activity in response to cold weather.
Once a badger abandons the burrow and moves on to new range- commonly about 100-300 hectare to as much as 600 hectares in size- the empty below ground voids provide ecosystem benefits to a list of species and processes that depend on the badger’s existence.
Did You Know?
Coyotes and badgers have been observed hunting together. The coyote waits at the entrance to a gopher burrow while the badger digs towards the prey. As a result the coyote can consume prey at higher rates and less travel, than when hunting alone.
Species like the Burrowing Owl, Swift Fox and the Prairie Rattlesnake use the abandoned burrows for dens, nest, and hibernacula. The swift fox is believed to not survive without the burrows provided by badgers. Other ecosystem processes that badger help provide are aerating the soil; promote the formation of organic humus and allow soil genesis; and the ability of water to reach deep into the soil.
Possibly the most important cornerstone activity that the American Badger is their hunting and control of Richardson’s ground squirrel populations. Badgers aid in biological control on large population of gophers, that if not predated will decimate crop and pasture forage in field or pasture. With the removal of chemical poison control options such as strychnine for gophers, badgers should be able to play a key role in keeping rodent balanced populations in the prairie ecosystem.
Badger numbers have declined dramatically since settlers introduced livestock, intensified agricultural practices, and increased trapping since the prairie landscape has been settled. Road mortality, poisoning and shooting of badgers has also hampered their survival. Giving birth to 2 or 3 between the end of March and early June, the populations of badgers are not at risk of overpopulation currently with the number of threats that they face when they are forced to leave the safety below ground. This has caused the American Badger to have a listing through the Wildlife Act in Alberta as a species of concern that can play an important role in ecological value and benefits.