Citizen scientists can now help dig into San Diego's urban wildlife mysteries. Join WERC ecologists as they track wild badgers and explore the connectivity of Southern California's natural landscapes.
WHAT IS THE AMERICAN BADGER?
American badgers (Taxidea taxus) are wide-ranging, mid-sized predators known to inhabit San Diego County. They can also be found in many other parts of North America spanning Mexico, the United States, and Canada. As a member of the weasel family (Mustelidae), which includes animals like wolverines, sea otters, and ferrets, they are cousins of the European badger (Meles meles) -- a main character found in Wind in the Willows -- and the honey badger (Mellivora capensis) -- the star of viral online videos. Their primary prey are small mammals such as squirrels.
American badgers prefer open scrub or grassy areas and are known to move up to 6 miles (10 km) a day in search of prey, this area comprises their home range. Because they have large home ranges, researchers can use badgers as indicators of habitat connectivity for conserved uplands in San Diego. If a badger is successful moving through uplands constricted by urbanization or roads, and able to find a mate or obtain food, this may indicate the landscape is also connected for a suite of smaller species that use these same habitats.
In the future, telemetry (radio or satellite tracking technology) could be used to assess how these badgers and other animals move among upland habitats. This will help scientists and municipal managers identify significant movement corridors between upland habitats.
Badgers will use small culverts to safely cross under roadways, so another goal of this study is to gather data that can help identify best locations to create roadway undercrossings for wildlife, to increase connectivity for many wildlife species and to help ensure the resilience of the badger populations in San Diego County.
Because badgers are constantly on the move, we depend on citizen sightings to identify usage areas where the species still occur. Also, road-killed badgers provide vital genetic and movement information.
If you have recently seen a badger, fresh burrows, or a dead badger in San Diego County, please contact USGS WERC researchers to report your sighting!
We will also accept reports from Orange, Riverside, and other neighboring counties.
Report badger sightings and badger sign to:
SDBadgers@usgs.gov or 619-225-6458
www.usgs.gov/sdbadgers
Please provide date seen, detailed location, and photos if possible.
- Download our badger study "wanted" poster to share with your friends (PDF, 1.2MB)
- Download a kid's coloring sheet explaining badgers and habitat connectivity (PDF, 0.5MB)
PROJECT DETAILS
The American badger is a unique and iconic mammal that may act as an umbrella species for a large suite of animal species that occupy upland habitats in San Diego County. Because of their very large home ranges, information on how badgers use and navigate the landscape can also be used to help evaluate how the interconnected conserved lands are working to preserve San Diego's unique biodiversity.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife's NCCP LAG program and San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) funded an initial rapid assessment to determine if badgers persisted in the western portion of San Diego County. USGS WERC researchers teamed up with Conservation Canines (University of Washington) and surveyed conserved grasslands in San Diego to find that indeed badgers are active in many of the lesser developed areas in the County. Specially trained dogs for wildlife research were used to survey large areas for badger scat in relatively little time, giving researchers better information on badger home range locations and habitat usage within the county -- all done without having to physically capture and handle wild badgers. Watch the video.
Since, USGS researchers have continued looking for badgers using canine scent detection, burrow surveys, remote infrared cameras, and citizen sightings. Their objectives are to further identify and map areas within the county that are used by badgers and to learn more about seasonal patterns, core-use areas, relationships to prey densities, and potential movement corridors among conserved and non-conserved landscapes. Read the data summaries for the effort.
Possibilities for future badger monitoring and research in San Diego County are currently being assessed. This includes evaluating the costs and benefits of active monitoring by radiotelemetry and passive monitoring using burrow surveys, canine scent surveys, and camera traps. USGS researchers are also exploring methods such as facial recognition and further development of genetic tools to identify and count individuals. The outreach poster and badger hotline has resulted in over 50 verified badger locations in the past 5 years highlighting the continued role of the public in this ongoing effort.
CONSERVATION CANINES
Use of dogs to locate wildlife scat over large areas was pioneered in 1997 by Samuel Wasser of the University of Washington's Conservation Canines program. Wasser collaborated with Sgt. Barbara Davenport, Master Canine Trainer with the Washington State Department of Corrections, to modify narcotics detection dog methods to train dogs to locate scat from threatened and endangered species.
The ideal scat detection dog is intensely focused and has an insatiable urge to play. Their obsessive, high-energy personalities make them difficult to maintain as a family pet, so they often end up at the shelter. But once trained for wildlife research service, the dogs are given a new career traveling the world to help save numerous other animal species.
Today, the UW Center for Conservation's Conservation Canines program has trained dogs to study many species, including iguanas, owls, bears, reindeer, anteaters, wolves, jaguars, sea turtles, bats, and even killer whales and invasive plants.
- Learn more about the UW Conservation Canines program
- Read about Pips, the Australian cattle dog that visited San Diego in 2011 and 2014
Read about trained dogs used in WERC research on the endangered Pacific pocket mouse
- Overview
Citizen scientists can now help dig into San Diego's urban wildlife mysteries. Join WERC ecologists as they track wild badgers and explore the connectivity of Southern California's natural landscapes.
Sources/Usage: Public Domain.Have you seen a badger? Click and learn how to recognize the signs. (Credit: National Park Service) WHAT IS THE AMERICAN BADGER?
American badgers (Taxidea taxus) are wide-ranging, mid-sized predators known to inhabit San Diego County. They can also be found in many other parts of North America spanning Mexico, the United States, and Canada. As a member of the weasel family (Mustelidae), which includes animals like wolverines, sea otters, and ferrets, they are cousins of the European badger (Meles meles) -- a main character found in Wind in the Willows -- and the honey badger (Mellivora capensis) -- the star of viral online videos. Their primary prey are small mammals such as squirrels.
American badgers prefer open scrub or grassy areas and are known to move up to 6 miles (10 km) a day in search of prey, this area comprises their home range. Because they have large home ranges, researchers can use badgers as indicators of habitat connectivity for conserved uplands in San Diego. If a badger is successful moving through uplands constricted by urbanization or roads, and able to find a mate or obtain food, this may indicate the landscape is also connected for a suite of smaller species that use these same habitats.
In the future, telemetry (radio or satellite tracking technology) could be used to assess how these badgers and other animals move among upland habitats. This will help scientists and municipal managers identify significant movement corridors between upland habitats.
Badgers will use small culverts to safely cross under roadways, so another goal of this study is to gather data that can help identify best locations to create roadway undercrossings for wildlife, to increase connectivity for many wildlife species and to help ensure the resilience of the badger populations in San Diego County.
Sources/Usage: Public Domain.Because badgers are constantly on the move, we depend on citizen sightings to identify usage areas where the species still occur. Also, road-killed badgers provide vital genetic and movement information.
If you have recently seen a badger, fresh burrows, or a dead badger in San Diego County, please contact USGS WERC researchers to report your sighting!
We will also accept reports from Orange, Riverside, and other neighboring counties.
Report badger sightings and badger sign to:
SDBadgers@usgs.gov or 619-225-6458
www.usgs.gov/sdbadgersPlease provide date seen, detailed location, and photos if possible.
- Download our badger study "wanted" poster to share with your friends (PDF, 1.2MB)
- Download a kid's coloring sheet explaining badgers and habitat connectivity (PDF, 0.5MB)
PROJECT DETAILS
The American badger is a unique and iconic mammal that may act as an umbrella species for a large suite of animal species that occupy upland habitats in San Diego County. Because of their very large home ranges, information on how badgers use and navigate the landscape can also be used to help evaluate how the interconnected conserved lands are working to preserve San Diego's unique biodiversity.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife's NCCP LAG program and San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) funded an initial rapid assessment to determine if badgers persisted in the western portion of San Diego County. USGS WERC researchers teamed up with Conservation Canines (University of Washington) and surveyed conserved grasslands in San Diego to find that indeed badgers are active in many of the lesser developed areas in the County. Specially trained dogs for wildlife research were used to survey large areas for badger scat in relatively little time, giving researchers better information on badger home range locations and habitat usage within the county -- all done without having to physically capture and handle wild badgers. Watch the video.
Since, USGS researchers have continued looking for badgers using canine scent detection, burrow surveys, remote infrared cameras, and citizen sightings. Their objectives are to further identify and map areas within the county that are used by badgers and to learn more about seasonal patterns, core-use areas, relationships to prey densities, and potential movement corridors among conserved and non-conserved landscapes. Read the data summaries for the effort.
Possibilities for future badger monitoring and research in San Diego County are currently being assessed. This includes evaluating the costs and benefits of active monitoring by radiotelemetry and passive monitoring using burrow surveys, canine scent surveys, and camera traps. USGS researchers are also exploring methods such as facial recognition and further development of genetic tools to identify and count individuals. The outreach poster and badger hotline has resulted in over 50 verified badger locations in the past 5 years highlighting the continued role of the public in this ongoing effort.
CONSERVATION CANINES
Use of dogs to locate wildlife scat over large areas was pioneered in 1997 by Samuel Wasser of the University of Washington's Conservation Canines program. Wasser collaborated with Sgt. Barbara Davenport, Master Canine Trainer with the Washington State Department of Corrections, to modify narcotics detection dog methods to train dogs to locate scat from threatened and endangered species.
The ideal scat detection dog is intensely focused and has an insatiable urge to play. Their obsessive, high-energy personalities make them difficult to maintain as a family pet, so they often end up at the shelter. But once trained for wildlife research service, the dogs are given a new career traveling the world to help save numerous other animal species.
Today, the UW Center for Conservation's Conservation Canines program has trained dogs to study many species, including iguanas, owls, bears, reindeer, anteaters, wolves, jaguars, sea turtles, bats, and even killer whales and invasive plants.
- Learn more about the UW Conservation Canines program
- Read about Pips, the Australian cattle dog that visited San Diego in 2011 and 2014
Read about trained dogs used in WERC research on the endangered Pacific pocket mouse