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Carnivora

Do you want to learn or teach people about badgers?

photo of badger skullIf you were to make a quick examination of the badger's skull and teeth, you might be mistaken into thinking it was "designed" to kill other animals, eat meat and nothing else. However, assuming badgers are solely carnivores is a common mistake. Whilst they do have carnivore-type teeth at the front, they also have powerful molar/cheek teeth at the back - these being good for grinding tough foods, like root vegetables and nuts.

Therefore, although the badger is technically a carnivore (it belongs to the zoological order of animals classed as Carnivora), in fact their diet is actually omnivorous - that is, it eats all sorts of plant and animal foods. The guts of badgers are longer than those of foxes, reflecting their omnivorous diet. In badgers, the small intestine  has a mean length of 5.36 metres (17.6 ft). The small intestine is the part between the stomach and the large intestine; and is where most of the end absorption of food takes place.

The main types of food eaten are listed on the left-hand menu.

The broad and varied nature of their diet certainly helps badgers survive over the winter when food is scarce.

People are sometimes surprised (or even shocked) to find that badgers will eat things such as cat food and dog food, as well as food dropped by people who have visited take-away caterers and food bins near commercial food businesses. In rare circumstances, it has even been known for badgers to come into dwellings through cat flaps; and eat cat food and dog food inside people's kitchens. For example:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-41683405

Badgers can very easily sniff out meat-based smells and will quickly know that meaty food has been left in the area. 
Michael Clark book
This is a superb book about badgers by Michael Clark. His immense knowledge of badgers really shines through. Click here to buy:
2017 edition or 2010 edition