Between March, 1969 and July, 1970, 16 badgers (Taxidea taxus) were caught and fitted with radio transmitters in the southern part of Curlew Valley. The animals were followed telemetrically; seven animals contributed sufficient data from which home-range, movement and activity patterns could be discerned. The aver age annual home-range size of five females was 664 acres (± s.d. 99 .5 acres). Female home-range sizes were approximately the same within crested wheat-grass (Agropyron aristatum) and sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) vegetation types, with greater distances traveled each night by females in the crested wheat-grass. Both home-range size and total movement were less during winter in the one badger observed during more than one season. The average home range of two males followed between September and mid-December was 1,440 acreas, twice the average female home-range size.
The necropsy of badgers in the study collection and a scat collection yielded information on the food habits and breeding biology of badgers in Curlew Valley. Many prey species were used, but mice were the most frequently eaten food item. Badgers bred between mid-July and the end of August. Delayed implantation PE sisted until approximately January 26. Pregnant females gave birth to an average of 2.2 young about April 1.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UTAHS/oai:digitalcommons.usu.edu:etd-4531 |
| Date | 01 May 1971 |
| Creators | Lindzey, Frederick G. |
| Publisher | DigitalCommons@USU |
| Source Sets | Utah State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | All Graduate Theses and Dissertations |
| Rights | Copyright for this work is held by the author. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user. For more information contact Andrew Wesolek (andrew.wesolek@usu.edu). |
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