An account of badger diet in an arid steppe region of Mongolia

Badgers (Meles spp.) range widely across Europe and Asia and consume a variety of food items. However, most diet studies have occurred in areas characterized by moderate climates and associated with agriculture and few have focused on the colder, drier, and relatively undisturbed biotopes of northern Asia. We described badger diet from an arid region of Mongolia based on an analysis of scats (n = 116) collected during the summer and autumn of 2006 and 2007. Badgers consumed several foods, including insects, mammals, birds, reptiles, plant material, and human garbage. However, badger diet consisted mainly of insects, which occurred most frequently and in greatest volume relative to other foods. Orthoptera, in particular, composed most scats, which may have been due to their high abundance. Badgers did not consume earthworms, which represent an important food in other regions. The lack of earthworms probably reflected their rarity or absence in the study area.