Southern Ontario is home to a small population of American Badgers (Taxidea taxus subspecies "jacksoni"). These rare, native carnivores are members of the weasel family and are among the most elusive animals in the province! They are mostly active by night, tend to avoid people, and wander over large areas. In fact a single badger’s territory can easily be several thousand acres! They feed mainly on small animals, such as groundhogs (also known as woodchucks or gophers), mice, chipmunks, frogs and insects. They spend their nights hunting along the weedy and grassy edges of fields, forests, and meadows, and usually sleep in burrows during the day

We know very little about badgers in Ontario and even their population size and distribution remain a mystery. Researchers have been starting to investigate these unique animals to answer some important questions about the types of habitat and prey they prefer, and how they fit into the agricultural landscape of southern Ontario. We've been making progress, but we still have a long way to go! Sightings and reports from people like yourself are the most important factor in our research.

Click on the tabs at the very top of this page to navigate to different categories. Or if you wish to find a specific keyword, use the search function on the right-hand side of every page (some browsers may disable this feature). All of the small pictures are links to the full-size original. Here is a general description of the categories, and there is a more detailed site map here.

• About Badgers (Everything you wanted to know about badgers and their ecology: where they live, what they eat, how to recognize their burrows and much more)
• Our Research (The different methods we are using to study badgers, news and updates on our progress, and why we need to study badgers in the first place)
• Get Involved (Things you can do to contribute to badger research and to generally help make life better for badgers in your area)
• For Farmers (Specific details for farmers on how badger conservation relates to you and how important farmers and agriculture are for the future of badgers in Ontario)
• Links & Resources (Online resources, references, and further reading)
• Partners (Information and contacts for ourselves as well as for the many other organizations and individuals who are involved in some way)