I hope all of you had a great weekend.  I am excited for another 5 days of entertaining Wild Facts. We are going to start it all off by looking at the Hog Badger.  This terrestrial animal can be found throughout the southeast Asia tropical rainforests. Anyone up for a quick flight to southeast Asia? I will meet all of you at the airport and then we will go and find this near threatened species. We better hurry up before the population declines any further.

The  Hog Badger looks similar to the Eurasian Badger but is typically smaller and has larger claws on their front paws.  Like other badgers they have a stocky body, a white throat and of course the classic black stripes on their face.  If you look at the snout of this badger, you can probably guess why they were named after a Hog.  Yep, they have a snout that looks very similar to a pig.  But don’t tell the badger since I have heard they are quite sensitive about their pig nose.

If their nose wasn’t enough to name them after a hog then their eating habits definitely are.  The Hog Badger is an omnivore and will prey on worms, other invertebrates, fruit, roots and small mammals.  When they are looking for their food though they will put their snout to the ground and snort like a pig.  It should really be no surprise as to why they are named Hog Badgers.   These guys also have a keen sense of smell and utilize this to find their scrumptious meals.

While they are out snorting around and looking for food they need to be on the lookout for tigers and leopards.  That’s right, the Hog Badger is preyed on by these awesome cats.  This badger relies on its thick skin and incredibly large claws to defend itself against these dangerous felines.  If that doesn’t scare them off then perhaps the foul smell these creatures excrete when they are frightened will do the trick.  The Hog Badger has also been known to dig into the ground to escape an oncoming predator.  If you ask me this isn’t a bad strategy but you had better be a quick digger.

Hog Badger Fast Fact – Although badgers are a solitary animal the young Hog Badger tends to be quite playful and social.  I would be careful playing with any animal that has extremely large claws.  Remember folks, it is all fun and games until someone loses an eye.

Well I hope you enjoyed your Monday Fact and I will see all of you back here tomorrow.