Skip to main content

Japanese Badger

Meles anakuma
Why it's that day of the year again. Happy Badger day! (We actually could go for another eight years before running out of Badgers to talk about...)

Last year we talked about the internet-famous Honey Badger, and the year before we learned about my beloved American Badger, but this year we'll be discussing one of the lesser known Badgers, the Japanese Badger!

Japanese Badgers belong to a different subfamily from the previously featured Badgers, and are close relatives of the yet-to-be-discussed European and Asian Badgers. As you can probably guess, they are endemic to Japan, and their island dwelling lifestyle has left them slightly smaller than their continental cousins. It is hypothesized that their ancestors entered Japan from the Korean Peninsula, which would explain why the species has not been found on the northernmost island, Hokkaido.

You can identify the Japanese Badger by their grey-brown hair and chocolate colored facial stripes that are similar to those found in the European and Asian Badgers, but are a bit less pronounced. They have tiny ears, short tails, and large, powerful feet with non-retractable claws for digging expertise.

One thing I found rather interesting is that Japanese Badgers have a polygynandrous breeding system. This means that both the males and the females will mate with multiple partners throughout the year. Unlike their close European cousins, they do not even form pair bonds to rear the offspring-- females do that duty alone. They actually will mate at all times of the year, but the females are luckily able to delay implantation so that her cubs are only born during the favorable spring season. Another fun fact? Female offspring will stay with their mothers for up to 14 months, but males will hang around for more than two years! Outside of mother/offspring groups the Japanese Badgers are solitary, more so than other Badger species.

Though they are currently listed as being of Least Concern, the Japanese Badger population has been on the decline for the last 30 years or so. Habitat loss has been a big factor, as is the spread of invasive Raccoons who compete for food and breeding sites.


IUCN Status : Least Concern
Location : Japan
Size : Length up to 30in (75cm)
Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Mammalia -- Order : Carnivora
Family : Mustelidae -- Genus : Meles -- Species : M. anakuma

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Bornean Orangutan

The Bornean Orangutan is one of two extant Orangutan species in the world. It is the third largest primate (after Gorillas) and is the largest primarily tree-dwelling animal in the world. Males are substantially larger than females, and average at around 165lbs. Bornean Orangutans are largely solitary. A handful might live within a small range but they will seldom interact with one another. Males and females only meet up to breed, which happens only once every several years. A young Orangutan will stay with it's mother for about five years, and the females tend to go about eight years between births. That is the longest interim period of any animal! Sadly, the Bornean Orangutans are in a lot of trouble. They need large forests in order to thrive, and deforestation and habitat degradation has left many homeless. They are also hunted for meat and for traditional medicines. Conservation areas are being established to help these guys in the wild, and it is believed that there are a

Four!

For anyone who was counting, yesterday was our birthday-- four years! Four years filled with animals from A to Z, more than 1,100 of them! I can't thank my readers enough, it's been wonderful! And in celebration of that milestone... I'm taking a break. Hopefully not forever, but for a little bit at least. In the mean time I plan on getting a new layout out, along with some updates to some of the older articles. I'll post updates here and on the Facebook page, I'm also brainstorming some new animal-related projects, so keep an eye out! Thanks again for four awesome years!

Binturong

The Binturong ( Arctictis binturong ) also has an equally awesome alternate common name, the Bearcat! However, it really isn't much of a bear OR a cat. While it is true that it is part of the Feliforma suborder, it is not a member of family Felidae. Binturongs are a part of their own family, Viverridae, which is shared with Civets, Linsangs, and Genets. There are six subspecies of Binturong, all of which have slight differences based upon location and habitat. Binturongs range in body size from 60-100cm in length, (not including their tail which has roughly the same length) and weigh between 20 and 30lbs. Binturongs are nocturnal animals native to the rain forests of South East Asia. The species range spans through several countries including China, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. They are tree dwelling mammals, and have fully prehensile tails that basically double their body length and can be used to cling to the trees or to grasp food. Binturongs are phe