Asian badger
Meles leucurus (Hodgson, 1847)
The Asian badger (Meles leucurus) is a species in the family Mustelidae, order Carnivora. Recorded adults weigh 11.9 kg to 14.5 kg and live up to 16.2 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.
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Quick facts about the Asian badger
- Weight
- 11.9 kg – 14.5 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 16.2 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Carnivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 18.6 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- forest, shrublandsrc for Habitat
- Gestation
- 49 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 3.11src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 12 months – 13.2 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Active
- By day (diurnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Where does the Asian badger live?
Not recorded
What is the Asian badger?
The Asian badger (Meles leucurus), also known as the sand badger, is a species of badger native to Mongolia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, the Korean Peninsula and Russia.
From the Wikipedia article “Asian badger” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Asian_badger&oldid=1384464067), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the Asian badger endangered?
The Asian badger is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the Asian badger classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderCarnivora
- familyMustelidae
- genusMeles
- SpeciesMeles leucurus (Hodgson, 1847)
Synonyms Meles meles, Meles meles aberrans, Meles meles amurensis, Meles meles enisseyensis, Meles meles eversmanni, Meles meles leucurus, Meles meles melanogenys, Taxidea leucurus, Taxidia leucurus
Other names and names in other languages (29)
- Northwest Asian badgerEnglish
- Sand badgerEnglish
- غرير آسيويArabic
- Azijski jazavacBosnian
- Jezevec čínskýCzech
- Asiatischer DachsGerman
- Ασιατικός ΑσβόςGreek
- Tejón asiáticoSpanish
- aasianmäyräFinnish
- Blaireau asiatiqueFrench
- Blaireau à queue blancheFrench
- גירית אסייתיתHebrew
- Tasso asiaticoItalian
- アジアアナグマJapanese
- Кўщар вєншkca
- БорсықKazakh
- 오소리Korean
- 아시아오소리Korean
- 중국오소리Korean
- Manuul MiiMongolian
- Khalzgai DorgoMongolian
- AsiagrevlingNorwegian Bokmål
- Aziatische DasDutch
- Borsuk azjatyckiPolish
- Texugo-asiáticoPortuguese
- Bursuc de nisipRomanian
- Азиатский барсукRussian
- Asya PorsuğuTurkish
- 亞洲狗獾Chinese
Relatives of the Asian badger
Other species in the same genus Meles.
European badger
Meles meles
Japanese badger
Meles anakuma
Caucasian badger
Meles canescens
CompareAsian badger vs European badgerAsian badger vs Japanese badgerAsian badger vs Caucasian badgerAsian badger vs Meles iberica
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the Asian badger?
An adult Asian badger weighs 11.9 kg – 14.5 kg, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the Asian badger endangered?
The Asian badger is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
How long does the Asian badger live?
The Asian badger has a recorded lifespan of 16.2 years.
How long is the Asian badger pregnant?
The recorded gestation period is 49 days.
What kind of animal is the Asian badger?
The Asian badger (Meles leucurus) belongs to the family Mustelidae in the order Carnivora.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · 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 · 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 · 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 · 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 · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · 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).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Asian badger (Meles leucurus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/asian-badger
“Asian badger (Meles leucurus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/asian-badger.
@misc{asian_badger_2026,
title = {Asian badger (Meles leucurus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/asian-badger},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}