Sand badger, Asian badger, Sand badger
The Asian badger (Meles leucurus ), also known as the sand badger, is a species of badger native to Mongolia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, the Korean Peninsula and Russia.
The Asian badger is mostly light in color. The flanks are lighter than the middle of the back, and the facial stripes are usually brown rather than black. The facial stripes narrow behind the eyes and extend above the ears. The light stripe passing along the top of the head between the two stripes is relatively short and narrow.
Asian badgers are found in the southern portion of Russia east of the Urals, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, China, and the Korean Peninsula. They occur in the Ural Mountains, the Tian Shan mountains, and the Tibetan Plateau. Asian badgers prefer open deciduous woodland and adjacent pastureland, but also inhabit coniferous and mixed woodlands, scrub, and steppe. They are sometimes found in suburban areas.
Asian badgers are nocturnal animals which means that they are active at night. They live in communal underground burrows which have many tunnels and entrances. However, in areas where food is scarce, these animals prefer to live singly. In the northern parts of their range with the start of cold weather Asian badgers retreat in their burrows where they hibernate in family groups until spring.
Asian badgers are omnivorous animals. Their diet includes fruits, nuts, bulbs, tubers, acorns, and cereals. They also consume various invertebrates, visit aspen and bee nests, eat bird eggs, carrion, and live prey such as mice, voles, hedgehogs, and moles.
Little information is known about the mating system and reproductive behavior of Asian badgers.
Asian badgers are not considered threatened at present. However, they are vulnerable to illegal hunting in some parts of their range and their fat oil is widely used in Mongolian traditional medicine.
According to IUCN, the Asian badger is common and widespread throughout its range but no overall population estimate is available. Currently, this species is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List.
