Talk:Badger

Vandalism?

There's been a section posted in this article with the lyrics for the Badgers song. Reverting EDIT: Someone beat me to it...goodgoodgood!

hehehe that was me you fools Reedfrost (talk) 04:02, 11 October 2008 (UTC) 70.162.133.122 (talk) 00:25, 2 October 2008 (UTC)

Badger vs Longhorn Cattle

Would a badger beat a longhorn cattle in a fight?

I think the cattle would trample the badger. But badgers ARE very fierce and they can defeat dogs much bigger than them. Dora Nichov 11:52, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

I am not sure what the purpose of this speculation is. this isn't some forum, is there reports of badgers killing cattle? Rds865 (talk) 05:50, 24 March 2008 (UTC)

Flash Movie

Do we need the link to the flash movie on this page? We already have Badger Badger Badger which explains about it. Kirk 11:26, 10 Apr 2004 (UTC)

BADGERS ARE COOL LOVE YALL JENNIFER ANN ( JIFNERER)I suggest compromise: a link to the disambiguation page at the top of the article. --Damian Yerrick 04:38, 6 May 2004 (UTC)

It should be listed in a badgers in culture section —Preceding unsigned comment added by Rds865 (talk • contribs) 05:51, 24 March 2008 (UTC)

Taxidea taxus

Why is there only a section on the american badger? Fair enough it is a subfamily but what about all the others? It should either be an article by itself or all the other badgers/families should have a section.

Good idea.61.230.79.242 04:11, 24 June 2006 (UTC)

I've replaced this section. GameCreator 21:30, 20 August 2006 (UTC)

badgers and TB

Suggest needs a paragraph on possible (and controversial) involvement of badgers in the spread of bovine tuberculosis. There are current UK government trials of culling in certain areas. Some info on the pages linked at end of article. --RupertB 19:38, 6 May 2004 (UTC)

badger - the verb

Is there not an expression like 'To badger somebody about something" in the meaning of "to repeatedly and insistently ask or query somebody"?

Yes, but nothing to do with this if you please, 'cept it's like a big fierce badger.61.230.79.242 04:11, 24 June 2006 (UTC)

Badger, or Tanuki?

Do "shapeshifting badgers" really feature in Japanese folklore, or is this confusion with the raccoon dog? The Japanese word for it, "tanuki", is often mis-translated as badger.

seconded: this should be omitted, IMO. -- JRice 16:15, 2005 Jun 3 (UTC)

In the Japanese cartoon Doraemon, raccoon dog is often mistranslated as fox or civet. Dora Nichov 11:49, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

There aren't any Badgers IN Japan, are there? ~ SotiCoto (talk) 20:54, 11 March 2008 (UTC)

The name "Brock"

Wouldn't the name "Brock" for a badger come from Beatrix Potter's story The Tale of Mr. Tod, which concerned a badger named Brock who kidnapped a bunch of baby rabbits with the intent of eating them? Potter's story was written in 1912; well before the 1948 date cited in the article.

It comes from the Irish and Scottish (ie Gaelic) word "broc" (pronounced "bruck") a point which I have now added to the article. --Qwayfe 16:27, 3 August 2005 (UTC)

Badgerphone

Does this place have the Badgerphone? I only saw the Badger Badger Badger link.

Redwall

There is a den or place at sorts located within the forest refered to Mossflower Woods called Brock Hall and it is located beneath where a Badger watches over its neighbors in the abbey nearby.

So?61.230.79.242 04:11, 24 June 2006 (UTC)

Behaviour, Mating, Etc.

The article goes into great detail on what a badger is, but totally ignores the idea of what a badger does -- what kinds of prey animals it targets, when its mating seasons and what its gestation periods are, why it is described as gentle despite being a carnivore, etc.. Is there anyone knowledgeable who can update that? I'll peruse Google for the time being... ;-) --Jtgibson 13:36, 16 January 2006 (UTC)

You might want to look at the related articles Eurasian badger, American badger and Ratel. I don't think that they are terribly clearly signposted from this article, or from the Badger (disambiguation) page. I'll try to do something about that shortly. Once those three articles are up to scratch, perhaps it would be worth doing something with this page, but I'm not sure what is best to do to improve it. Telsa 14:28, 16 January 2006 (UTC)

I've started a small section on Lifestyle and Diet. Hopefully someone else can better word it and flesh it out. GameCreator 21:31, 20 August 2006 (UTC)

The badger aphorisms section

I was about to remove this because there are no sources quoted for any of it, but as I wrote this justification, That Guy From That Show beat me to it. Before anyone reinserts it, here's why I think you shouldn't.

1. Bishops. Can't find any mention of this on google other than on Wiki mirrors or obviously quoted direct from Wikipedia, and certainly no derivation. Can't find it in Brewer's, Shorter OED and a couple of other reference books.
2. The verb (one sense of it, at least). In Wiktionary anyway and not needed here (and hardly an aphorism)
3. Fifties bluegrass. Can't find mention of band, can't find mention of colloquial usage claimed, can't find any non-Wikipedia mirror result on Google. Other contributions of user seem to be exclusively involved with inserting this reference in Wikipedia elsewhere and messing about with alumni of a university.

Nothing personal about badgers: I just like references :) --Telsa (talk) 10:21, 21 February 2006 (UTC)

For the little available proofs on Google (searching "badger a bishop" with quotes), I've removed the paragraph concerning the phrase "Don't call the badger a bishop" again, despite it appearing on the list of idioms in the English Language here on Wikipedia - that one used the same wording as the old Aphorisms section back in February. —Laogeodritt ^{[ Talk | Contribs ]} 04:41, 24 August 2006 (UTC)

Ubuntu

I was wondering if it would be completely out of place to add that the very popular Ubuntu Linux distribution has a version called Breezy Badger. Somnoliento 02:39, 22 April 2006 (UTC)

My personal feeling is that it would be a little unnecessary. There are dozens of distros who have had dozens of odd release names. We used to have Breezy Badger mentioned on the Badger (disambiguation) page, but it was removed -- by me :) -- because there wasn't anything much to link to: we don't have articles about each separate version. This article tends to acquire stuff about "in popular culture" and lists of books and Mr Badgers and so on much faster than it acquires any information about badgers themselves. Telsa (talk) 07:35, 22 April 2006 (UTC)

We should add Badger badger badger on again.

It is a significant pop cultural things featuring badgers. Maybe put it in the pop cultural sections.

We should IMHO. -201.52.40.246 (talk) 05:53, 21 October 2008 (UTC)

Teastas Mor?

Is this really relevant? While related to badgers in some way, it seems rather out-of-place to me. There's also the issue of the second paragraph: A few Google searches shows nothing much that mentions this event save Wikipedia itself (and any mirrors thereof). If it is accurate, wouldn't it be better off in Badger-Baiting one section above? Laogeodritt 13:56, 16 June 2006 (UTC)

Badger Name

Believe the etymology section should be cleaned up, and would suggest that the idea the name badger comes from the fce having a badge on it, is a little spurious.

I have seen other web pages which state the name badger is believed to come from the French word ‘becheur’, meaning digger.

129.35.81.16 13:08, 15 August 2006 (UTC)DT

Range?

I know nothing about badgers, and so wouldn't touch the article, but what I came looking for was the range of the different species of badgers. (Badgers are prominent figures in a book series I'm reading, and I was just curious as to which sort would be around.) Any chance of modifying the list of different types of badgers to give their geographical ranges? Miss w 15:45, 23 August 2006 (UTC)

North America and Eurasia. Honey badgers, which aren't true badgers, live in Africa. Dora Nichov 11:50, 3 September 2006 (UTC) Bold text

Vandalism - Horse picture

It's showing a picture of a horse. I have no idea how to change it, so someone might want to do that. 67.23.84.125 15:55, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

I fixed it.

Trivia section

I added this section and included a reference to Wisconsin. Maybe the literary and folklore references could go here also to separate it from the biology. WU03 02:10, 15 September 2006 (UTC)

What is this trivia about badgers killing people? This seems to me like vandalism.

It's obviously vandalism. I personally dislike trivia sections. They become repositories for collections of facts which should be incorporated into the article proper. (And vandalism, seemingly.) Also, we don't really need to give every paragraph its own subheading. I have removed the claims about sharks and the "folklore" section: no-one ever produces a cite for any of it. I will look for the "symbol of fidelity" one because it's one I know myself, although I thought it was more about tenacity than milk and kindness. (Presumably CS Lewis had in mind when he made Trufflehunter the badger the character who never doubted that Caspian would return.) Telsa (talk) 08:32, 28 September 2006 (UTC)

Fiction

We are amassing a long list of "books with a badger in them". Is this a good thing? Half of them are childrens' books, and talking animals are a fairly standard ingredient in children's books. And the badgers are far from the main characters in several of them. The other thing is that these are all English-language books: apparently there is no M. Blaireau or Herr Dachs worth including? So does this reflect a specific genre in Britain (most of them are UK books) that doesn't exist in Europe, Russia, the rest of the badger's range; or does it simply reflect who edits the article most? Telsa (talk) 08:32, 28 September 2006 (UTC)

size

2m in length sounds a bit of a 'stretch', this site says 750mm average: [1]

Of course, it would depend on the species, but I agree badgers of any kind don't grow to 2 meters. Dora Nichov 09:44, 5 November 2006 (UTC)

What badgers eat

I think the facts about the american badger's diet are from The Simpsons, and aren't real. Or mabye somebody didn't understand that the site www.whatbadgerseat.com is a joke website. Either way, it should be cited.

Badgers

I love Badgers! They are very cute! —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 66.143.47.76 (talk) 00:44, 22 January 2007 (UTC).

Badger fur is used for shaving brushes

I'd like to know if the badgers are hunted and slaughtered for their fur. Or just shaved like sheep? Where are these badger fur facilities? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 69.237.101.62 (talk) 19:28, 10 February 2007 (UTC).

Badgers are slaughtered for the hair, rather than being shorn like sheep. Now-a-days, the commercial supply of badger hair comes from China. People are assured that badgers are in abundant supply in China, that they would become vermin if their population were not checked by such slaughter, and that harvesting badger hair is intrinsically too expensive for demand to cause excessive hunting. But, for my part, these assurances are insufficient. Badger populations could be controlled without slaughter, and I've seen distressing video of how fur from other animals (such as raccoon dogs) is harvested in China. —SlamDiego_←T 11:39, 31 July 2008 (UTC)

Second largest or largest carnivore in UK?

We seem to be going back and forth between the largest indigenous carnivore in the UK and the second largest. Can both sides please cite their sources here so that we can come to a consensus? --Lonotter 14:51, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

• The Badger Trust (formerly the National Federation of Badger Groups) includes the line: 'Did you know that the badger is the largest land carnivore left in the British Isles following the extinction of the bear and the wolf!' on the 'What is a badger?' page. There have been proposals to reintroduce wolves in scotland although I do not know whether this has been done yet. If that is the case it would be correct (and more enlightening) to say "...are now the second largest native carnivores in the British Isles since wolves were reintroduced in Scotland in (date)" Petecarney 19:23, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

The Carnivore page defines such an animal as having a diet consisting mainly of meat and distinguishes them from obligate carnivores which cannot digest vegetable matter. Eating the occasional plant doesn't make them omnivores. Petecarney 09:55, 22 May 2007 (UTC)

I found it odd that the article says nothing about how large the various badgers grow. Huw Powell (talk) 20:40, 30 September 2008 (UTC)

Changing United Kingdom to Great Britain

The term "United Kingdom" refers to all territories of the crown, including islands far removed from Great Britain, which is the correct term for the island containing England, Scotland and Wales. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 128.164.122.5 (talk) 18:56, 28 March 2007 (UTC).

New Wikiproject

I wanted to make a wikiproject about ferrets and weasels but it became to small a range so i have made a bigger wikiprojects including all animals in the Musteloidea super family which include both ferrets and weasels and much similar animals. Support would be appreceated.

This new wikiproject includes Badgers

you can find it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Council/Proposals#Weasels

i also made a little template for the project,

This article is within the scope of the Weasel WikiProject, a collaborative effort to improve Wikipedia's coverage of articles relating to Ferrets, Weasels, and other Weasel like friends. If you would like to participate, you can visit the project page, where you can join the project and see a list of open tasks.

I hope you like it.

This wikiproject is for the superfamily of Musteloidea which currently and surprisingly does not have an article yet. This superfamily includes ferrets and weasels and all of our other furry little weasel like friends. Please put your name on it so this article could have it's very own wikiproject outside of wikiproject animals.

Teh Ferret 19:56, 26 April 2007 (UTC)

Best

This may be the best article ever... though I am somewhat biased... ;) Wilybadger 02:30, 23 June 2007 (UTC)

Badger's in Iraq

Should Newsbiscuit.com even be considered a credible source? I browsed there and it appears that they're as credible as fake News Website The Onion. 68.9.223.94

It appears the BBC and USA Today have reported about this. I'm still not sure it belongs in the article. 13:40, 13 July 2007 (UTC)WP:RECENT. --OnoremDil 13:27, 13 July 2007 (UTC)

Ahh...I hadn't seen the part referenced to newsbiscuit. It's already been removed. --OnoremDil 13:34, 13 July 2007 (UTC)

Just wanted to see if you noticed that. It should be on the list of places that are NOT to be used. Although refering to it on a page about fake news websites might be warranted. 68.9.223.94 13:40, 13 July 2007 (UTC)

Please stop vandalising this section by removing references. The point is not whether the badgers were or were not deployed by the British, but whether the British can credibly answer the allegation. The 20 June 2007 article may be true, it may not. It is cited as a source of information that could have been seen inside Iraq that was a possible basis for the allegation. Why weren't, for example, the Americans or Australians blamed for deploying the badgers? Why the British? Jumping to the conclusion that the British did not deploy the badgers violates Wikipedia:No_original_research and WP:NPOV. Please remember, we are not exactly talking about UFOs or aliens here. There are videos and photos of the badgers all over the Internet. And it is not as if people are saying the heard the badgers speaking with a midlands accent or something ridiculous like that!

When you have objective proof that the badgers are not part of the British military presence in Iraq, please feel free to add references the relevant sources. Mere denials by the Military of any nation do not constitute an acceptable standard of proof, especially in relation to Iraq. Do you even remember the premise upon which the war was started!! --121.209.162.193 21:21, 13 July 2007 (UTC)

The British were blamed because they had the nearest base. The scientists from the area have provided a reasonable explanation. And you can definitely stop adding your "source" which includes a photoshopped badger in a tank. It's nonsense and doesn't belong in the article.

When you have objective proof that the badgers are not part of the British military presence in Iraq

Negatives are kind of tough to prove. Your request is unreasonable. Feel free to add the information when you have proof that they were responsible though. --OnoremDil 21:24, 13 July 2007 (UTC)

Can't agree, I'm afraid. The allegation is a noteworthy event, I'll stick with the text and references as originally included in the article. Feel free to add further references. Thanks. --121.209.162.193 23:44, 13 July 2007 (UTC)

Deletion of Badger Deployment in Iraq Section

This section was finally stabilised after a fairly 'robust' debate by various sceptics who no doubt divide their time between here and the 'Global Warming is a Swindle' pages and who are probably still waiting for those WMDs to turn up in Iraq. So why was it deleted? I prefer the earlier version in which the British are not let off so lightly. If this section gets deleted again without explanation, I will regard this article as up for wholesale revision and revert to that version and add the Badger photoshopped into the tank as a pic, if I can get a royalty free version of it. --121.209.163.118 23:03, 17 July 2007 (UTC)

If you revert to the version including the nonsense reference and/or insert the badger in a tank pic, you will be reverted as a vandal. --OnoremDil 23:09, 17 July 2007 (UTC)

I'm sure - but I'll do it anyway if the section gets deleteted without explanation here. Vandalism is a two way street - if you want to make it one. --121.209.163.118 23:12, 17 July 2007 (UTC)

While I had nothing to do with the removal of that section, I agreed with it and I think that whether or not that removal should be considered vandalism would be debatable. It's a nonsense story, (even the true parts), that nobody is likely to care about in a few months, and it really has nothing to do with an encyclopedic article about badgers. Using obviously false sources to make obviously nonsense additions to the article is without question vandalism, and that's completely a one way street. --OnoremDil 01:11, 18 July 2007 (UTC)

What is a male badger called

Badger: WHAT IS A MALE BADGER CALLED?

I don't what a male badger is called so please may someone give me a response! Thanks — Preceding unsigned comment added by Cleverkitten121 (talk • contribs)

I dunno too, but i do know a female one is a sow. Ribbedebie 16:05, 21 August 2007 (UTC)

EDIT: I know, a male badger is a boar. Ribbedebie 11:12, 3 September 2007 (UTC)

Popular culture section

I just removed the popular culture section. Per WP:TRIVIA, such sections are not good methods of organizing information, and there was nothing in the section which seemed relevant enough to include in the rest of the article. Thoughts? --TeaDrinker 04:03, 17 October 2007 (UTC)

as of right now there is information in the article that should be in such a section. perhaps along with popular views of badgers and if they ever symbolized anything. Rds865 (talk) 06:04, 24 March 2008 (UTC)

Factual omission

Hunting badgers is common in many countries, either as a perceived pest, or for sport. Roaming badgers may not be killed, nor their setts interfered with, except on licence from the government.

What country is referred to in the second line? My guess would be England, since that's the British spelling of "licence," but it's not clarified.

wrong fact

article states that badgers don't yawn.

---

this link shows a pic of a badger yawning.Indianrocks73 (talk) 05:38, 27 January 2008 (UTC) http://www.badgers.org.uk/badgerpages/american-badger-photo-02.html

I've removed the statement about badgers being unable to yawn as the above link shows it occurring and in a recent documentary (http://naturewatchuk.blogspot.com/2008/02/dont-miss-tonights-natural-world.html) badgers are filmed yawning many times. Geeman (talk) 22:05, 21 March 2008 (UTC)

Badgers as pests, badger milk etc

Recent edits (eg: [2]) have made various claims about badgers as food and as pests in China, and the consumption of badger milk, all with references given. I've attempted to query these sources, and delete some of what appear to me to be obvious myths, such as the uses of "badger milk". To avoid further edit warring, let's now discuss these issues here.

My difficulty is that the "references" given are clearly not reliable. They are not authoritative research papers, but advertising material repeating "facts" which support the use of their product. These facts may or may not be true, but those sources are not sufficient evidence of their truth.

For example, one source claims that badgers are an agricultural pest in China, and that "villagers" are licensed to catch them. So, are they an agricultural pest? Have we a source from, say, an agricultural research journal on mammal pests in China? Or perhaps it suits the people or the Chinese government to say they are a pest? We can't tell which it is from the ref given. Then, are the people licensed? Do we have a ref about Chinese licensing law, or anything "official" saying that this is done? All we have is a couple of self-interesterd web-pages which could have made up the whole thing, or (perhaps more likely) be repeating something told them by their equally self-interested suppliers. We need independent refs for this material. For example, what do international conservation organisations have to say about trade in badger products and its legality in China?

Similarly, I am sceptical about badger milk. Again we only have a web-page from a supplier, which gives no details about how you actually milk a badger, is unclear about which species is involved, and does not explain how it is legal (it would not be so in the UK). I suspect a spoof or joke. For something so unlikely we certainly need an independent source.

Wikipedia is an encyclopaedia, not just a collection of whatever other web-pages happen to say. That's why we need proper reliable refs.

Personally, I find badger meat very tasty – much like very rich beef. But that's original research, so I shan't put it in... Richard New Forest (talk) 09:32, 26 October 2008 (UTC)

Let´s start with the obvious, shall we? If you consider something, like consumption of badger milk, to be non-sense, it is your POV. And as far as i know, wikipedia adopts a NPOV. There is a source backing up the claim that Badger Milk can be ordered in Germany and that pretty much rules out your POV. There wouldn´t be sellers if there wasn´t buyers.

Now about China. I have nothing to do with that reference and i cannot back it up. However considering your other editions, it might be just you trying to remove a valid reference due to a previously determined POV. Also there is another reference . in the same article about the consumption of Badger Meat that also backs up the claims that Badgers are considered a pest in rural mainland China. This source comes from a well known commercial establishment that works with badger products also stating that Badgers are considered pests and that farmers are licensed to kill them in China. So we do have 2 different references from different sources to back up that statement you so eagerly wants to remove.

You also forgot to mention that you removed a very large ammount of information about the consumption of Badger Meat in Europe, specially in Russia and in Croatia. In Russia, you remove about 90% of the information about consumption of badgers, leaving only the fact that there was an outbreak of trichinellosis related to Badger meat consumption, removing the quotes about the local popularity of badger meat consumption. Although the reference is mainly about the outbreak, it does state that Badger Meat is a popular food source in Russia and that it´s consumption is widespread. Those statements removed were quotes from a scientific article and their removal only serves to proove that your edition was biased by your POV that consuming badger meat or milk is disgusting or wrong.

About consumption of badger meat in Croatia, you removed every single word about it, even though we had a source from a croatian government sponsored organization (Portal of scientific journals of Croatia) claiming that Badger Meat is used in a traditional croatian dish (a croatian version of Goulash). This source not only specifies the type of badger consumed ("Meles Meles" L.), but it also contains a brief history of badger consumption in Croatia, Slovenia and other eastern european countries.

Back to Badger Milk, if you have any information about Badger Milk beeing forbidden in the UK i would be very glad if you posted it since you so far presented no valid proof for this claim and since that reference would also aid to expand the section in the article about badger milk. From me, i´ll be searching for more sources on the consumption of Badger Milk in Germany and other countries.

About your finishing sentence, i ask you to be respectfull and not ironic. As much as you may consider the consumption of badger meat or milk disgusting or wrong due to whatever reasons you have, it is just your POV and wikipedia adopts a strict NPOV policy. The sources and references backing up the statements you constantly removed in the past week are not original research. They are sources from medical, scientifical and government institutions and registered commercial enterprises , and the removal of them is not a valid edition to Wikipedia, but rather an attempt to impose your personal POV over an article.

-201.52.40.246 (talk) 18:36, 26 October 2008 (UTC)