CreatureData

Japanese badger

Meles anakuma Temminck, 1844

LCLeast Concernmammals

The japanese badger (Meles anakuma) 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.

Japanese badger (Meles anakuma)
Photo: Nzrst1jx · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the japanese badger

Weight
11.9 kg – 14.5 kgsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
16.2 yearssrc for Lifespan
Diet
Invertivoresrc for Diet
Longest recorded lifespan
18.6 years
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
Not recorded
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

Photos of the japanese badger

Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.

Japanese badger (Meles anakuma)
DataBase Center for Life Science (DBCLS) · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Where does the japanese badger live?

Not recorded

What is the japanese badger?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The Japanese badger (Meles anakuma) is a species of carnivoran of the family Mustelidae, the weasels and their kin. Endemic to Japan, it is found on Honshu, Kyushu, Shikoku, and Shōdoshima. It is assigned to the genus Meles with its close relatives, the European (M. meles), Caucasian (M. canescens) and Asian (M. leucurus) badgers. In Japan, it is called by the name anaguma (穴熊, 貛) meaning "hole-bear", or mujina (むじな, 狢, 貉).

From the Wikipedia article “Japanese badger” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Japanese_badger&oldid=1384655906), 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 japanese badger endangered?

The japanese badger is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.

How is the japanese badger classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classMammalia
  4. orderCarnivora
  5. familyMustelidae
  6. genusMeles
  7. SpeciesMeles anakuma Temminck, 1844

Synonyms Meles meles anakuma

Other names and names in other languages (23)
  • AnagumaEnglish
  • غرير يابانيArabic
  • Japanski jazavacBosnian
  • jezevec japonskýCzech
  • Japanischer DachsGerman
  • Tejón japonésSpanish
  • japaninmäyräFinnish
  • Blaireau japonaisFrench
  • גירית יפניתHebrew
  • Tasso giapponeseItalian
  • 狢Japanese
  • むじなJapanese
  • アナグマJapanese
  • ニホンアナグマJapanese
  • 일본오소리Korean
  • JapangrevlingNorwegian Bokmål
  • Japanse DasDutch
  • Borsuk japońskiPolish
  • Texugo-japonêsPortuguese
  • Японский барсукRussian
  • Japansk grävlingSwedish
  • Japon PorsuğuTurkish
  • 日本狗獾Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the japanese badger

Other species in the same genus Meles.

CompareJapanese badger vs European badgerJapanese badger vs Asian badgerJapanese badger vs Caucasian badgerJapanese badger vs Meles iberica

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the japanese badger?

An adult japanese badger weighs 11.9 kg – 14.5 kg, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the japanese badger endangered?

The japanese badger is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

How long does the japanese badger live?

The japanese badger has a recorded lifespan of 16.2 years.

How long is the japanese badger pregnant?

The recorded gestation period is 49 days.

What kind of animal is the japanese badger?

The japanese badger (Meles anakuma) 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.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Japanese badger (Meles anakuma). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/japanese-badger

MLA

“Japanese badger (Meles anakuma).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/japanese-badger.

BibTeX
@misc{japanese_badger_2026,
  title = {Japanese badger (Meles anakuma)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/japanese-badger},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}