# American badger (*Taxidea taxus*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/american-badger  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The American badger (Taxidea taxus), also called the badger, is a mammal in the family Mustelidae and subfamily Taxidiinae, within the order Carnivora. It is a medium-sized, terrestrial and nocturnal carnivore, with an adult body mass of 7.1 kg and values up to 8 kg. Gestation lasts 43.8 days, litters have 3 young, and sexual maturity is reached at 332.4 days, with values from 223.7 to 441 days. The American badger has a lifespan of 26 years and is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 7.11 kg – 8 kg |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Lifespan | 26 years |
| Diet | Carnivore |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | grassland |
| Gestation | 43.8 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 3 |
| Age at maturity | 7.35 months – 14.5 months |
| Litters or clutches a year | 0.74 |
| Active | At night (nocturnal) |
| Lifestyle | Terrestrial |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Mammalia
- order: Carnivora
- family: Mustelidae
- genus: Taxidea
- species: *Taxidea taxus* (Schreber, 1777)

Synonyms: *Ursus taxus*

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is the American badger?

The American badger is a mammal in the family Mustelidae, order Carnivora. It belongs to the subfamily Taxidiinae and the genus Taxidea.

### How heavy is an American badger?

An adult American badger has a body mass of 7.1 kg, with values up to 8 kg reported. This places it in the medium size class.

### What does the American badger eat?

The American badger is a carnivore. It is terrestrial and nocturnal.

### Is the American badger endangered?

No. The American badger is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.

### How long does an American badger live?

The American badger has a lifespan of 26 years.

### How many young does an American badger have?

An American badger has 3 young per litter, with 0.74 litters per year. Gestation lasts 43.8 days.

### When does an American badger reach sexual maturity?

The American badger reaches sexual maturity at 332.4 days, with reported values from 223.7 to 441 days.

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1), CC0 1.0, 1.0. Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

Cite as: American badger (Taxidea taxus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/american-badger