Badgers are short-legged animals with pointed claws and striped faces. Their common predators are wolves, coyotes, bears, and even lynxes at times. On the other hand, wolves are deadly carnivores that feed on large herbivores such as bison, moose, elk, deer, etc. Although wolves are a common predator of badgers, do they eat them or not?
In this article, we will be looking at why wolves fight badgers and the comparison between the size of a wolverine, a wolf, and a badger. We will also be analyzing the strength of a wolf and a badger against each other and which one of them is likely to win. So, to learn more, read on!
Contents
Will a Wolf Eat a Badger?
Wolves are among badgers’ common predators. However, they often kill badgers to remove the competition for food since they both feed on some common prey. They don’t kill them for the purpose of eating them. But in some rare cases, the remains of badgers were found nearby wolves.
Although wolves’ favorite prey are large mammals such as deer, caribou, elk, moose, etc, they also eat small animals such as rabbits and mice. This puts them in competition with badgers who feed on such prey.
So naturally, wolves will kill their opponents, the badgers to reduce competition for their food. They hunt down badgers to kill them but these ferocious animals do not eat the short-legged mammals.
This process is called ‘competitive displacement’, which simply means that the two species cannot coexist. So, the stronger one kills the weaker to remove the competition for food.
However, some studies showed that badger remains were found nearby wolves. But this is only on rare occasions.
Do Gray Wolves Eat Badgers?
Large carnivorous animals like bears, gray wolves, and mountain lions are known to hunt and kill badgers but they don’t eat them. Gray wolves are mostly active at night time and they go out to hunt for small animals like weasels, badgers, hamsters, mice, and more.
Gray wolves are known to be sharp and cunning predators and they are known to form tight packs while hunting. However, they do not eat badgers, they kill them to remove the competition for food.
Is a Wolverine Bigger Than a Badger?
The honey badger has a length of 96 centimeters, a weight of up to 16 kilograms, and a height of 28 centimeters at the shoulder. A wolverine has a length of up to 107 centimeters, a weight of up to 25 kilograms, and measures up to 45 centimeters at the shoulder.
Both wolverines and badgers come from the Mustelidae family. The Mustelidae family is one of the biggest families of carnivorous mammals like weasels, badgers, wolverines, and more. Both these animals are known for their ferociousness and gluttony. They are highly different in terms of their size.
Hence, we conclude that wolverines are much greater in size than badgers. If a wolverine and a badger were to have a face-off against each other, then it is quite possible that the wolverine would win the duel.
Are Wolves Bigger Than Badgers?
Yes, Wolves are much bigger than short-legged mammals if we consider them in terms of their sizes. Wolves measure up to a length of 105-160 centimeters whereas badgers measure up to a length of 90 centimeters.
Female wolves weigh up to 60-100lbs whereas Male wolves weigh up to 70-150lbs. Whereas, the heaviest badger weighs up to 60lbs only. Thus, this shows that wolves are much heavier and bigger than badgers.
Are Wolves Scared of Badgers?
Wolves are afraid of anything that isn’t a part of their natural environment. Hence, this explains why they get afraid of humans. Wolves are intelligent and smart animals and they tend to avoid the unknown. However, wolves are not afraid of badgers because they live in the same surroundings.
Wolves and badgers live in the forests together but if they get into a face-off then instead of getting scared they can fight with each other.
Both the animals hold the capacity to kill each other but the wolves are at an advantage here because of their bigger size. Also, wolves always roam around in packs which helps them to surround their enemy from all corners.
Can a Badger Kill a Wolf?
No, a badger cannot kill a wolf. Wolves are larger in size than badgers and they are much faster. Moreover, wolves often move around with their packs. So, it is less likely for a badger to kill a wolf.
A badger can only run at a speed of 19 miles per hour whereas a wolf can run much faster than the short-legged mammal. Wolves can run at a speed of 40 miles per hour which helps them to outrun a badger. Hence, we conclude that badgers cannot kill wolves because the latter is much stronger and smarter than them.
Do Bears Eat Badgers?
Badgers are nocturnal animals whereas bears are active during the day as well as the night. Bears are among the common predators of badgers and they often kill them to remove potential competition for food.
Badgers are known to be very aggressive and this goes for a honey badger as well. A honey badger is known for its fearless character. Due to these characteristics, badgers only have some natural predators which include the golden eagles, bobcats, and bears.
Bears are carnivorous animals and mostly they do not eat badgers, instead, they just kill the animal and leave it alone because they want to remove the competition that occurs for food. Rather than going for predating the animal, they go for competitive displacement.
Who Would Win: Badger or Wolf?
In this section, we will be comparing a wolf and a badger in terms of their size, defense capabilities, offensive system, senses, predatory style, speed as well as bite power.
1. Size
The largest species of badger which is the honey badger weighs up to 40 pounds and can measure up to a length of 90 centimeters. Whereas a wolf can weigh up to 150 pounds, can grow up to a height of 5 feet, and stand over 3 feet high.
These size dimensions of a wolf and a badger show that a wolf is larger than a badger and the former has an advantage over the latter and this helps the wolves to conquer the short-legged mammals easily.
2. Defense Capabilities
Badgers are known to have a nasty smell which helps them to drive off their predators and they have a thick fur that prevents them from getting wounded by their enemies’ attacks. However, wolves do not have a strong defense system, they can only use their high running speed to save themselves from their enemies.
Hence, after comparing the defense systems of both savage animals we conclude that a badger’s defense capabilities are much better than a wolf’s. Thus, in this section, the wolves lose the crown to the badgers.
3. Offensive System
Badgers kill their prey by the use of their sharp teeth and astounding jaw power. They also have sharp claws that help them to wound their opponent badly.
Badgers have an inbuilt ability to attack the sensitive parts of their enemies’ body parts. Whereas a wolf chases its prey with the help of its pack and then bites it and waits for it to get exhausted, after this, they kill the animal.
Both animals have a dangerous way to kill their prey. Wolves have strong teeth and their bite power is huge. Badgers have a pair of sharp claws that help them to tear their enemies’ skin apart. Hence, both of them are dangerous predators.
4. Senses
Badgers have poor eyesight but they have got a great sense of smell that helps them to smell their prey from a great distance. As for wolves, they have a great vision. They can hear and smell perfectly which makes them great at being predators. Hence, wolves have the advantage in the case of senses.
5. Predatory Style
A badger doesn’t take care of the delicacy when it goes for a hunt. The animal smells its prey and goes on the search. The badgers attack wisely by biting at the sensitive parts of their prey’s bodies. The predatory style of a wolf involves chasing its prey, biting it, and waiting for it to get exhausted, and then it dives in for the kill.
Badgers and wolves have very different styles of killing their animals and badgers have a much more dangerous style of predating upon their prey. Hence, the badgers are the clear winner in terms of the predatory style.
6. Speed
Badgers are known to chase down their enemies but they have a maximum speed of 19 miles per hour. Whereas, a wolf can run at a speed of 40 miles per hour which makes the wolf a better runner. They can track down their prey with the help of their high speed.
7. Bite Power
Badgers have a very strong jaw and are considered to have sharp teeth that can even dig into a tortoise shell as well as the animal’s bones. Whereas wolves are believed to have teeth similar to a dog’s. Their teeth help the wolves to tear their prey’s skin apart.
So, who is more likely to win?
Wolves can bite with a 400 PSI of biting power which makes them stronger in terms of biting power. Thus, to conclude we all can agree that wolves are stronger than badgers and if the two animals were to have a face-off, then a wolf is more likely to win the battle.
Final Thoughts
Summing up the article, we conclude that yes, wolves can eat badgers as wolves are much more capable. Badgers are good in some aspects but wolves prove to be the better out of the two!
