European Badger (Meles meles) Biology, Ecology and Management: Do We Know Enough?

Abstract

The European badger (Meles meles) is a mustelid with a particularly large body size (total length of 0.7-1.1 m) and mass (on average >10 kg, and seasonally and locally sometime >20 kg). It exhibits semi-fossorial habits, with individuals resting in burrows referred to as “setts” during the day and foraging at night [1]. It is present in most of Europe, with exception of northern Scandinavia, the northern latitudes of the European part of Russia, as well as Atlantic and most Mediterranean Islands [2]. A quick search for the keywords “Meles meles” in the Web of Science database (https://webofknowledge.com) on 9 December 2016 yielded over 1,500 items published between 1945 and end November 2016, a large majority of them