Observations of American badgers, taxidea taxus (Schreber, 1777) (mammalia, carnivora), in a restored tallgrass prairie in Illinois, USA, with a new county record of successful reproduction

Abstract

American Badgers, Taxidea taxus (Schreber, 1777) are poorly studied relative to other North American carnivores. We report on observations of American Badgers within a restored tallgrass prairie ecosystem owned and managed by The Nature Conservancy in Illinois. We documented badgers at six camera locations, including two prairie restorations re-stored from row crop agriculture in 2002 and 2015. In addition, we confirmed breeding activity in Ogle County, filling a gap in the known breeding distribution of American Badgers in Illinois. We provide context for these observations and suggestions for future research.