HOG BADGERS: CHARACTERISTICS, BEHAVIOR AND REPRODUCTION

HOG BADGERS

hog badger

Hog badgers are three species of mustelid — a diverse family of carnivoran mammals — in the genus Arctonyx. They represent one of the two genera in the subfamily Melinae, alongside the true badgers (genus Meles). Arctonyx was formerly considered a monotypic genus with one species (Arctonyx collaris) but a 2008 study found it contained three distinct species, a finding now recognized by the American Society of Mammalogists. The three species are: 1) Northern hog badger (A. albogularis), in South and East Asia; 2) Greater hog badger (A. collaris) in Southeast Asia; and 3) Sumatran hog badger (A. hoevenii), in Sumatra in Indonesia. [Source: Wikipedia]

Hog badgers are found in grasslands, hills, mountains, tropical rainforests, tropical evergreen, and semi-evergreen forests and agricultural areas mainly in Southeast Asia, as far west as Sikkim, as far east as northeastern China and southward into Sumatra. They live in mainly in tropical areas and have been sighted at elevations from sea level to 3,500 meters (11482 feet) at an average elevation of 2,000 meters (6560 feet). Their lifespan in captivity is as high as 15.8 years. [Source: Jacob Toben, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]

On the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List hpg badgers are listed as Near Threatened. In CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild) they have no special status. The IUCN list the greater hog badger as Vulnerable. The other two subspecies are listed as Least Concern. They are threatened by loss of habitat and hunting with dogs. Some groups in India eat hog badgers. In China, they are hunted and farmed for food. In Laos, some groups, especially in parts of the Nam Theun basin, like the taste of hog badger meat; others don’t. Hog badgers are not attacked by so many natural predators as they possess strong jaws, big claws, flexible skin and are quite fierce when cornered. Their coloration patterns help camouflage them. Their only known predators are tigers and leopords.

Hog Badger Characteristics and Diet

Hog badgers range in weight from seven to 14 kilograms (15.4 to 30.8 pounds) and have a head and body length that ranges from 55 to 70 centimeters (21.6 to 27.5 inches). Their tail ranges from 12 to 17 centimeters (4.7 to 6.7 inches). Sexual Dimorphism (differences between males and females) is present: Males are larger than females. [Source: Jacob Toben, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]

Hog badger fur color ranges from a dark grey to brown, while tail color ranges from white to a light yellow. Two dark stripes are found on the face, and the throat is white in color. The most notable feature is the "pig-like snout" that is used for feeding, along with modified teeth specifically used to move soil. Another notable feature used to distinguish hog badgers from the closely related Eurasian badgers is the color of their claws. Hog badgers have light-colored claws whereas Eurasian badgers have dark claws.

Hog badgers, Sumatran hog badgers, and northern hog badgers can be distinguished their skulls which are different in shape and size. No information was found on the basal metabolic rate of hog badgers. However, Eurasian badgers (a closely related group), have a basal metabolic rate of 1,323 kJ per day.

Hog badgers are omnivores (eat a variety of things, including plants and animals) but can also be viewed as carnivores (eat meat or animal parts), insectivores (eat insects), vermivores (eat worms), herbivores (eat plants or plants parts) and frugivores (eat fruits). Hog badgers feed on a variety of things depending on what is available. Animal foods include small mammals, insects and worms. Among the plant foods they eat are fruit, roots and tubers. Sometimes they locate food using their pig-like snout, which can sense smells and root through the ground like a pig. They can also dig in the ground using their snout, incisors, and canine teeth of their lower jaws. Worms appear to be a particularly sought-after food.

Hog Badger Behavior

hog badger range

They are fossorial (engaged in a burrowing life-style or behavior, and good at digging or burrowing), nocturnal (active at night), motile (move around as opposed to being stationary) and solitary. [Source: Jacob Toben, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]

Hog badger home ranges tend to be a a section of a geographical area where they can find enough food source and a reasonable shelter. There is no known information on the size hog badgers’ territory but Eurasian badger females have a home range of 12.4 square kilometers.

Hog badgers tend to roam around, forage and hunt by themselves. They dig burrows into the ground to find food or to create a shelter. These burrows may be used by other animals for their shelter.

Hog badgers sense and communicate with vision, touch, sound and chemicals usually detected by smelling. The communication patterns for hog badgers have not been carefully studied directly but it can be assumed that they employ tactile means and scents to communication as regular badgers do.

Hog Badger Mating, Reproduction and Offspring

Hog badgers engage in seasonal breeding. They breed once a year during warmer months, between April to September. They may engage in delayed implantation (a condition in which a fertilized egg reaches the uterus but delays its implantation in the uterine lining, sometimes for several months). The number of offspring ranges from two to four, with the average number of offspring being three. [Source: Jacob Toben, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]

There isn’t so much information hog badger mating behavior. Most of what has been surmised is based on other, similar animals such as badgers, otters, weasels family. For example, it is believed that males become seasonally sexualy active before the females, and thus initiate mating, often after laying out territory first. Among badgers, otters and weasels, females reach sexual maturity after two to three months, but males don’t do so until they are a year old.

The gestation period for hog badgers ranges from five to 9.5 months. The average weaning age is four months and the age in which they become independent ranging from five to six months. Females are the primary caretakers of young.

Hog Badger Farming

Asian badger and hog badgers are farmed for their meat and body parts which are used in medicines and also things like cosmetics, facemasks, soaps and anti-aging creams. Asian badgers and non-native hog badgers are legally sold in South Korea. You can even buy them on an online-shopping platform owned by eBay. Sellers on platforms say their products came from legal badger farms in South Korea or wild badgers in other countries such as China and Russia. However, evidence suggests that badger poaching still takes place in South Korea. Hog badgers also raised on farms in China. [Source: Zoological Society of London]

Zoological Society of London and University College London researcher Joshua Elves-Powell saus: “While badger farming was in-part introduced to alleviate pressure on wild badger populations in South Korea, we are concerned that it could have the opposite effect in the long-term.

“Illegal badger poaching is known to still occur in South Korea and there is a risk that the legal trade acts as a smokescreen for the sale of illegal products, or the stocking of badger farms with illegally harvested wild animals. While a fall in households involved in badger farming since 2001 would give the impression that the practice had disappeared, evidence shows that the number of captive badgers in some provinces has actually increased in that time.

Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons

Text Sources: Animal Diversity Web animaldiversity.org ; National Geographic, Live Science, Natural History magazine, David Attenborough books, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Smithsonian magazine, Discover magazine, The New Yorker, Time, Reuters, Associated Press, AFP, Lonely Planet Guides, Wikipedia, The Guardian, Top Secret Animal Attack Files website and various books and other publications.

Last updated January 2025