Toll-free Hotline: 1-877-715-9299 email: info@ontariobadgers.com (click for other local contacts)

Public sightings

Since badgers are so rare and elusive, reports from the public are really the only way that we can find them. Burrows are the most valuable reports since they are more easily confirmed and genetic samples can often be collected from them. Dead badgers (either road-killed or stuffed and mounted) can also provide very important data. Road-kills give us information about diet (by analyzing stomach contents), distribution (where they were killed) and we can even learn here they lived in the few months before they died by looking at chemicals in their claws! The claws of older, mounted badgers are just as important. The importance of public sightings cannot be exaggerated! No sighting is too small. If you aren't sure whether your sighting is useful, contact us anyway!

claw samples from mounted badgers

Though badgers were never common in Ontario, they were once trapped legally, and even now they are occasionally trapped accidentally in traps that target other animals. Many of these badgers end up as stuffed and mounted specimens in homes across Ontario. A claw sample from a mounted badger, even if it's several decades old, can actually tell us about the type of habitat that badger lived in while it was alive. Badgers that have not yet been mounted or tanned will also contain genetic information that can be a big help to research.

Mounted badgers and badger skins can provide extremely helpful information about the life of that badgers.

Much of the open habitat that badgers use in Ontario is created inadvertently by people as a by-product of agriculture or other activities

What roles do people play?

Badgers like open habitat, and while they will move through forests, they don't prefer them. Because of this, much of the habitat that badgers like is in some way disturbed. On one hand, this bodes well for badgers because one of the hallmarks of a human impact is disturbed habitats. But this is often not useful to badgers because many of these areas are very small and highly fragmented and almost all of them were created inadvertently and are converted to more "productive" uses whenever possible. And even in "natural" cases, the process of conversion still occurs, but on a slower time frame, as open habits are slowly colonized by forests. But with a bit of awareness and concern, we can monitor and manage our activities in a way that suits badgers.

Cut less often and leave wider edges

One of the easiest things to do is to improve the habitat you already have. The perimeters and edges of most properties are areas that get less attention by landowners. Because they don't get cut nearly as often, they start getting colonized by other plants, those plants grow taller, flower more, and, most importantly, go to seed. This is when the incredible value of open habitats is realized. Seeds from grasses and herbaceous plants provide excellent food for a variety of small mammals which in turn provide food for badgers. Anything you can do to increase the size of these areas and the likelihood that they will go to seed will be very productive for all sorts of wildlife.

Goldenrod is one of the best and most conspicuous of our native species at colonizing open sunny areas before trees take over, and is a great indicator of the sort of habitat badgers use. It is one of the most likely to be found in edge and perimeter habitat, and in the late summer, when it comes into bloom, its clusters of small flowers dominate the landscape. It is often accused of being the cause of hay fever, though the real culprit, ragweed, has inconspicuous greenish flowers. To most people, the presence of Goldenrod is a sign of land that has been ignored for too long. But for many animals, it means food and cover.

The wildlife value of grasses and herbaceous plants increases exponentially when they can go to seed

Goldenrod is a great indicator of the open habitat that badgers use

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Even if it weren't for the value of supporting so many endangered species, a tall-grass prairie at the height of its bloom is a sight to behold!

Tall-grass prairie restoration

For those who have the available land, restoring a native tall-grass prairie is a rewarding process. These habitats are comprised of many threatened and endangered plants and tend to attract all sort of other wildlife, particularly the species at risk that specialize in living in these communities. There is a growing field of support and service for those who are interested in tall-grass restoration, including everything from the sale of native plant seeds to the process of planting and tending. Click here for links to more information and organizations that provide native seeds and restoration services.

Appreciate "weeds" and fallow areas

Unfortunately, much of the open habitat that does exist in Ontario tends to be under-appreciated. Though there has been an excellent movement in recent years toward the conservation of land and habitat, the overwhelming focus has been on forests and wetlands. While this is great for deer and ducks, it doesn't do much for badgers.

We often think of weeds as unwanted plants in gardens, but for many people, weeds can also refer to the introduced species which rapidly colonize heavily disturbed areas. Sometimes even our native colonizers, such as goldenrod and asters, which can dominate large fallow areas, are criticized as weeds.

It's difficult to say at this point which sort of open habitat badgers prefer. While there is an incredible value in restoring native tallgrass, we should not ignore the importance of fallow meadows, even those dominated by introduced species. In most places in southern Ontario, this is the only kind of open habitat that exists at all, and we do know with certainty that badgers are using those areas. In fact, badgers likely wouldn't be here at all right now if it weren't for them. We need to have more appreciation of these areas and should not be so quick to dismiss their value.

Field edges are often dominated by introduced species, like these Scots Pines and Dame's Rocket flowers, though they still have value for wildlife

Aside from creating wildlife habitat, many fallow areas put on a dazzling display of colour in their season

Most of us are just as curious and interested in badgers after hearing that they live here in Ontario

Raise awareness

One of the biggest obstacles to badger research, and thus to conservation, is that most people don't even realize that there are native badgers in Ontario at all. This means that many sightings of badgers and their burrows go unrecognized (and unreported) and consequently there is less information available for researchers to use to understand them. Even if you never see a badger yourself, you can still help by spreading the word to your friends, family and neighbours. Most Ontarions are quite interested in wildlife, and especially a rare and unique animal like the badger. Let them know that badgers live here, and that their sightings, reports and input are so valuable.

educate yourself and others

When it comes to any wildlife, and especially badgers, it pays to know what to look for. Certainly many people in Ontario have seen a badger burrow, or maybe even a badger itself and did not know what it was. It's even possible that you yourself have seen the sign of a badger at some point! Please feel free to make use of this webpage to learn about badgers in Ontario, and explore some of the links and other resources we've provided here. You can download some of our brochures and flyers here, or we can send you some to make available at your business or workplace.

Spreading awareness and information about badgers is a very important step in conservation