It is classified as least concern on the IUCN Red List, as it has a wide range and a large, stable population size which is thought to be increasing in some regions.

[2] Although taxonomically classified as a carnivoran, the European badger is an omnivore, feeding on a wide variety of plant and animal foods, including earthworms, large insects, small mammals, carrion, cereals, and tubers.

The European badger has been known to share its burrow with other species, such as rabbits, red foxes, and raccoon dogs, but it can be ferocious when provoked, a trait which has been exploited in the now-illegal blood sport of badger-baiting.

German Dachs, Dutch das, Norwegian svin-toks; Early Modern English dasse), probably from the PIE root *tek'- 'to construct', which suggests that the badger was named after its digging of setts (tunnels); the Germanic term *þahsu- became taxus or taxō, -ōnis in Latin glosses, replacing mēlēs ('marten' or 'badger'),[10] and from these words the common Romance terms for the animal evolved (Italian tasso, French tesson/taisson/tasson—now blaireau is more common—, Catalan toixó, Spanish tejón, Portuguese texugo) except Asturian melandru.

The modern species originated during the early Middle Pleistocene, with fossil sites occurring in Episcopia, Grombasek, Süssenborn, Hundsheim, Erpfingen, Koněprusy, Mosbach 2, and Stránská Skála.

A comparison between fossil and living specimens shows a marked progressive adaptation to omnivory, namely in the increase in the molars' surface areas and the modification of the carnassials.

As of 2005[update], eight subspecies were recognized as valid taxa, but four (canescens, arcalus, rhodius, severzovi) are now considered to belong to a distinct species, the Caucasian badger (M.

[31] In Doñana National Park, average weight of adult badgers is reported as 6 to 7.95 kg (13.2 to 17.5 lb), perhaps in accordance with Bergmann's rule, that its size decreases in relatively warmer climates.

[37] Their jaws are powerful enough to crush most bones; a provoked badger was once reported as biting down on a man's wrist so severely that his hand had to be amputated.

[37] In winter, the fur on the back and flanks is long and coarse, consisting of bristly guard hairs with a sparse, soft undercoat.

Its range includes Albania, Armenia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Crete, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Ukraine.

[43] The European badger is found in deciduous and mixed woodlands, clearings, spinneys, pastureland and scrub, including Mediterranean maquis shrubland.

A hierarchical social system is thought to exist among badgers and large powerful boars seem to assert dominance over smaller males.

The chambers are frequently lined with bedding, brought in on dry nights, which consists of grass, bracken, straw, leaves and moss.

[47] Spring cleaning is connected with the birth of cubs, and may occur several times during the summer to prevent parasite levels building up.

[45] Badgers begin to prepare for winter sleep during late summer by accumulating fat reserves, which reach a peak in October.

In Russia and the Nordic countries, European badgers retire for winter sleep from late October to mid-November and emerge from their setts in March and early April.

[45] European badgers are among the least carnivorous members of the Carnivora;[60] they are highly adaptable and opportunistic omnivores, whose diet encompasses a wide range of animals and plants.

Earthworms are their most important food source, followed by large insects, carrion, cereals, fruit and small mammals, including rabbits, mice, rats, voles,[61] shrews, moles and hedgehogs.

Fruits include windfall apples, pears, plums, blackberries, bilberries, raspberries, cherries,[61] strawberries, acorns, beechmast, pignuts and wild arum corms.

Occasionally, they feed on medium to large birds, amphibians, fish, small reptiles including tortoises and lizards, snails, slugs, fungi, tubers and green food such as clover and grass, particularly in winter and during droughts.

In Irish mythology, badgers are portrayed as shape-shifters and kinsmen to Tadg, the king of Tara and foster father of Cormac mac Airt.

[12] In Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows, Mr. Badger is depicted as a gruff, solitary figure who "simply hates society", yet is a good friend to Mole and Ratty.

He is shown kidnapping the children of Benjamin Bunny and his wife Flopsy, and hiding them in an oven at the home of Mr. Tod the fox, whom he fights at the end of the book.

European badger appears on the coat of arms of the municipality of Luhanka in Central Finland, referring to the former importance of the fur trade in the locality.

Methods used for hunting badgers include catching them in jaw traps, ambushing them at their setts with guns, smoking them out of their earths and through the use of specially bred dogs such as Fox Terriers and Dachshunds to dig them out.

[91] Badgers are, however, notoriously durable animals; their skins are thick, loose and covered in long hair which acts as protection, and their heavily ossified skulls allow them to shrug off most blunt traumas, as well as shotgun pellets.

If convicted, badger-baiters may face a sentence of up to six months in jail, a fine of up to £5,000, and other punitive measures, such as community service or a ban from owning dogs.

[99] In 2012, the government authorized a limited cull[100] led by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), however, this was later deferred with a wide range of reasons given.

It was claimed by shadow ministers that "The government's own figures show it will cost more than it saves...", and Lord Krebs, who led the Randomised Badger Culling Trial in the 1990s, said the two pilots "will not yield any useful information".