This American Badger was as surprised by me as I was by her.
1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited or set up
Six days ago near the border of Idaho and southwest Montana I was driving a remote dirt road when I came around a blind corner and saw this badger just a few feet in front of me as she scampered furiously to get out of my way. By the time I was able to stop my pickup she had entered her den next to the road and then partially reemerged to check me out. I was so close to her that using my big lens I could barely fit her head into the frame when I popped off a couple of quick shots without checking my camera settings. I had so little depth of field at this range with that gear that the only thing sharp in the image is her left eye and lower forehead. The image is uncropped.
I know she’s a female because her swollen nipples were visible for a moment but I was swapping camera gear at the time and didn’t get any of those photos. I suspect she had cubs in the den but I never saw them. It was noon-ish when these images were taken so the light was harsh, the colors a little washed out and catch lights in the eye were difficult to get.
1/8000, f/5.6, ISO 1250, Canon 7D, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM @ 200mm, not baited or set up
I was so fearful that she’d disappear down her hole before I got any shots of her with my more appropriate lens that when I switched gear once again I didn’t check my camera settings at first – thus the exorbitant shutter speed and ISO (previously I had been shooting flickers in deep shade).
I include this shot mostly for the good look at her massive and muscular chest and forelegs which power those digging claws – to me she looks a little Hulk Hogan-ish.
1/2500, f/7.1, ISO 500, Canon 7D, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM @ 340mm, not baited or set up
She seemed to be quite olfactory-oriented and was often sniffing around in the air or near the ground. Her head angle when doing so allowed me to occasionally get some light in her eye with the sun so high in the sky.
1/1600, f/9, ISO 500, Canon 7D, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM @ 400mm, huge crop, not baited or set up
In only one shot was I able to get a relatively clear look at her claws. This is a very large crop and the image isn’t particularly sharp but it allows us to see the very impressive digging tools of the American Badger.
1/2500, f/7.1, ISO 500, Canon 7D, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM @ 170mm, not baited or set up
This is about as far as she emerged from her den while I was there. This view partially illustrates her surprisingly long body.
1/2000, f/7.1, ISO 500, Canon 7D, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM @ 100mm, not baited or set up
Not long before I left I backed off with the zoom to try to show some habitat near her den. This general area is badger-heaven because there are so many ground squirrels nearby – plenty to eat for her growing cubs (assuming she actually has them and I believe she probably does).
These aren’t great photos but I’ve found badgers to be elusive quarry over the years and I thought readers might enjoy seeing them anyway.
Ron
Addendum: My heart is broken this morning by the tragic events in Orlando. Many readers (including members of my family who read this blog) know that my daughter Shannon and her family live in Orlando so I thought I’d pass on the information that they are ok, though like everyone else they’re stunned by the senseless tragedy.
Ron:
Those are great photos. I particularly like the sequence you presented them in. They pull back from an in-your-face closeup to a nice shot of the scene. I’ve seen one badger in my life. It was curled up in the fork of a tree about 12 feet off the ground near Carlyle Lake in Southern Illinois. It’s head was tucked in. It was the biggest ball of fur I’ve ever seen.
Like you, I’m saddened and shocked by the shootings in Orlando. I heard on the news Pres.Obama has now gone on television more than 15 times during his administration to talk to the nation after a mass shooting.
The badger had INFINITELY more charm (and beauty) than Hulk Hogan. Or any of his relatives.
I am glad that Shannon and her family are safe, and hurting for those who aren’t.
I agree, EC. I prefer the badger too. By a lot.
I love these pics Ron. You have captured the environment so well with your lens settings. The details of this mother badger just knock me out. What a beauty she is and I can feel the heat, the noon time sun and bright glare and the dryness of this environment in your pic. I’ve never seen such claws in a mammal this size and her coloring is interesting to study. I’m not sure what she eats but i bet she is good at hunting. The best to your family and thanks for posting.
Sandra, she eats ground squirrels mostly. And she’s very, very good at digging them out.
I saw a live badger once on the drive back from Santa Fe. It was brief but brilliant. Sadly I have seen too many who lost the battle with a car. Thank you for your comments about the tragedy in Orlando.
“Sadly I have seen too many who lost the battle with a car”
You’re sure right about that, Arwen. I’ve seen a lot of road killed badgers too. They seem particularly vulnerable to that fate.
Sensational shots Ron!
Charlotte
Thanks, Charlotte.
I”ve been out working in the yard so am just now turning on my desktop and checking out your blog!! I didn’t expect to be looking into the face of a beautiful Badger. Like many of us, I’ve never seen one in nature or even at a zoo. I LOVE your series and your commentary of your time with this female. You never know what you will see on your adventures which I’m sure adds to your enjoyment of your time in the wild. SO enjoyed seeing all the sides and paw of this Badger!! As for the massacre in Orlando, I’m glad your family is safe, Ron!! I’m a religious person but hate what some people are doing to others in the name of religion!! The world is so filled with intolerance like I’ve never seen before – scares me big time!!
“You never know what you will see on your adventures”
That’s a big part of the fun of it all, Jo Ann – you just never know what will turn up “out there”. This last trip I was even hoping for a bear because I was sometimes in their range and good habitat for them but it didn’t happen this trip.
Love the shots of the Badger. It’s nice to see different animals that I don’t get to encounter in person. I’m glad to hear that Shannon and her family are okay. Just read about the shooting because I’d heard nothing about it yet. It’s very sad that anybody would hate others as much as this man must, more so because those people probably did nothing to provoke him beyond their basic existence. Stories like this one make me even more grateful for the positive encounters I’ve had recently with people who believe differently than I do, but who are human beings before they are anything else.
Well said, Susan. These are sad and tragic times we live in and those positive human encounters we have help to keep us sane (relatively so in my case…).
Great post, Ron. Badgers are beautiful animals. I enjoyed your photos of her. And I am glad your family is ok.
I agree, Debbie. My uncle on our Montana farm once had a dog (he got that dog from me) that reminded me of a badger. Toby wasn’t much larger than a badger, he was low-slung and shaped like a badger, he had the same kind of attitude as a badger and he was tough as nails – all characteristics that didn’t endear him to a lot of people but I always really liked that dog.
Toby was absolutely fearless. He had a penchant for killing skunks and attacking porcupines and he didn’t give a damn about the nasty consequences he (and the rest of us) usually had to deal with. Once (actually more than once) when he got a snoot-full of porcupine quills we had to roll him up tightly in a heavy carpet so that only his nose was showing so we could pull the quills out. Toby was snarling and snapping the entire time, just like a badger.
That dog had an attitude!
Ron, your photos just always amaze me. A quick story about a badger. My grandfather bought a farm next to the Snake River in the 1920’s, and it consisted mostly of cottonwood trees, brush, sloughs and wild critters. One day while working a cleared field with his team of horses he saw his dog Dolley get into a fight with some critter on the far end of the field. It was to too far away to tell just what it was, but he could tell it was vicious fight. When he finally got back down to that end of the field he went to see what had happened to his dog. He found the dog and the badger out in the slough. The badger had gotten a got grip on Dolly’s throat, but had missed the windpipe. The dog had a good grip on the back of the badger’s neck, and neither dared let go. The dog then pulled that badger down into the slough and out far enough into the water that only the dogs nose was out of the water, and he drowned the badger. And some people don’t think that animals can reason.
Wow, that’s just an incredible story, Marvin. Thanks for sharing it.
Yeah, Marvin, I’m NOT one of those people I see them reason and problem solve routinely!
‘Dumb’ animals outsmart a lot of people I know. Including (perhaps particularly) those in public office.
Wow! What a gorgeous girl!
She is, isn’t she, Mary!
Such a tragedy in Orlando. Glad your daughter is safe. The photos are amazing as usual.
Thank you, Ellen.
A wonderful series of a beautiful, brave creature…I know many think of them as ferocious, viscious, even evil, but I think of them brave and courageous…especially when defending their young, territory or themselves….
Agreed, Patty.
Here’s an interesting clip, kind of long, that illustrates how aggressive both foxes and badgers can be when either defending their young or defending a potential food source. It includes fights between the foxes and the badger and doesn’t have a happy ending for the fox family.
Sorry, the link to the clip stopped working so I removed it.
Sigh! 🙁 Mother nature is a “B” at times for sure!
I watched most of this clip then chickened out…could guess how it probably ended…thanks for providing it. I hope Orlando settles down safely now for Shannon’s and her family’s sake and for your peace of mind….since so much of this beautiful wotld has gone nuts, your blog is even more appreciated…even ones like the vixen and the badger confrontation….
Great post, so glad to know I am not the only one not to remember to check camera settings… Marvin and I share a camera so you can just imagine the problems.
Thanks, Jo. It’s not that I don’t remember, I usually do. It’s just that there are occasions where if I take the time to check and adjust camera settings my subject will have disappeared in the interim. So in those situations I sometimes pop off a few shots before checking my settings. Usually the resulting photos are crap but sometimes they’re acceptable…
What a splendid series of photos! I’ve never seen a badger in person, but hope to one day soon.
As with you, I’m so very saddened about this morning’s news from Orlando. There’s so much polarized insanity in our world now that it’s simply overwhelming. We’ve got to find a way to quell the violence.
Thank you, Laura. And I agree with your stated sentiments.
We don’t have to “find a way” to quell violence as much as we need to use common sense, backbone and courage in standing up for and applying intelligent measures to keep guns out of obviously wrong hands—instead of caving into the political cowardice of those who claim to be “our” representatives, but obviously are not….not in any way…just count the victims of this assine cowardice…thoes dead, maimed and living with loss….
Patty, I’m right there with you. I’m ashamed of our country that this is the 20th time President Obama has had to address this violence. You could hear the disgust in his voice. When is it going to be enough? But that’s political stuff…doesn’t really belong here.
Nice! They are ferocious, shy in many ways, animals. Beautiful coloring! Glad you caught her. 🙂
They certainly do tend to be shy, Judy. On our Montana farm badger holes were extremely common but I seldom ever saw an actual badger except occasionally when driving at night or in the very early morning. Even then they usually immediately scurried down their holes.
Great shots of her from different angles. It’s nice to see these animals up close.
Glad your family is ok.
Thank you Carol, on all counts.
Well, I know I am delighted you showed this gal!. I have seen a badger only once in my life, thus having these shots of one are wonderful.
I am glad you showed her “digging tools”. We (humans) tend to forget the individual tools each species has to live and survive.
Many thanks for sharing.
I thought you might enjoy these, Dick. It isn’t a weasel but at least they’re both mustelids (same family).
She was so curious. Beautiful animal. I’m glad you came across her. Great photos Ron!
Yes, she was curious. Otherwise I don’t think she’d have stayed at the den entrance for as long as she did. Thanks, Jean.