Spatial distribution and sett use by the Japanese badger, Meles meles anakuma

To understand social organization among Japanese badgers (Meles meles anakuma), we investigated their spatial distribution and sett use in Yamaguchi City, Western Honshu, Japan. Field observations were made from 1995 to 2000, and 19 badgers were monitored by radio-tracking between 1997 and 2000. A badger family consisted of a mother and her offspring. Mature adult males seldom visited the family except in early spring, and they were found to have large home ranges that encompassed the home ranges of two to three adult females. Individual home ranges of mature adult male and adult females did not overlap with those of other mature adult male and other adult females of the same sex, suggesting intra-sexual territoriality. Badgers used an average of 13.5 setts in a year, and mature adult males and females seldom stayed in the same sett together. Male offspring shared a sett with their mother for up to 26 months, whereas female offspring remained with the mother for only 14 months. The average time male offspring spent with their mothers decreased when young were between 15 and 19 months old.