Badger

Badger, Joseph, 1708-65, American painter, b. Charlestown, Mass. By trade a glazier and house and sign painter, he turned his hand to portraiture. Generally uninspired, his work appears at its best in his numerous portrayals of young children, such as Jeremiah Belknap (Mus. of Art, Cleveland).

badger, name for several related members of the weasel family. Most badgers are large, nocturnal, burrowing animals, with broad, heavy bodies, long snouts, large, sharp claws, and long, grizzled fur. The Old World badger, Meles meles, is found in Europe and in Asia N of the Himalayas; it is about 3 ft (90 cm) long, with a 4-in. (10-cm) tail, and weighs about 30 lb (13.6 kg). Its unusual coloring, light above and dark below, is unlike that of most mammals but is found in some other members of the family. The head is white, with a conspicuous black stripe on each side. European badgers live, often in groups, in large burrows called sets, which they usually dig in dry slopes in woods. They emerge at night to forage for food; their diet is mainly earthworms but also includes rodents, young rabbits, insects, and plant matter. The American badger, Taxidea taxus, is about 2 ft (60 cm) long, with a 5-in. (13-cm) tail and weighs 12 to 24 lb (5.4-10.8 kg); it is very short-legged, which gives its body a flattened appearance. The fur is yellowish gray and the face black, with a white stripe over the forehead and around each eye. It is found in open grasslands and deserts of W and central North America, from N Alberta to N Mexico. It feeds largely on rodents and carrion; an extremely swift burrower, it pursues ground squirrels and prairie dogs into their holes, and may construct its own living quarters 30 ft (9.1 m) below ground level. American badgers are solitary and mostly nocturnal; in the extreme north they sleep through the winter. Several kinds of badger are found in SE Asia; these are classified in a number of genera. Badgers are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Carnivora, family Mustelidae.

Any of eight species of stout-bodied carnivores (family Mustelidae) that possess an anal scent gland, powerful jaws, and large, heavy claws on their forefeet. Most species are brown, black, or gray, with markings on the face or body, and are found in South Asia. Badgers dig to find food and to construct burrows and escape routes. The American badger (Taxidea taxus), the only New World species, lives in the open, dry country of western North America. Badgers feed mostly on small animals, especially rodents. Species may be 9–12 in. (23–30 cm) high and 13–32 in. (33–81 cm) long, excluding the 2- to 10-in. (5– to 23-cm) tail, and may weigh 2–48 lbs (1–22 kg). Badgers can be savage fighters.

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Badger is a city in Webster County, Iowa, United States. The population was 610 at the 2000 census.

Geography

Badger is located at (42.615303, -94.144454).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.7 square miles (4.4 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 610 people, 227 households, and 172 families residing in the city. The population density was 360.7 people per square mile (139.4/km²). There were 232 housing units at an average density of 137.2/sq mi (53.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 99.67% White, and 0.33% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.49% of the population.

There were 227 households out of which 41.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.3% were married couples living together, 8.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.2% were non-families. 19.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.69 and the average family size was 3.10.

In the city the population was spread out with 30.0% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 27.9% from 25 to 44, 21.6% from 45 to 64, and 12.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 100.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $41,250, and the median income for a family was $46,250. Males had a median income of $35,000 versus $21,458 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,573. About 6.1% of families and 7.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.2% of those under age 18 and 6.3% of those age 65 or over.

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