The Badger we have in the UK is more properly known as the Eurasian Badger – it is found from Ireland in the west, right across Europe and Asia to Japan.
The Latin name of the badger is Meles meles; but many people also know it by its other country names of brock, bawson, pate or grey. Many villages, towns and surnames contain reference to “brock”, examples including, Brockholes, Brockhampton, Brocklehurst and Brocklebank. Brock is an old Celtic word which means grey or grizzled – a very apt name for the appearance of the badger.
An adult badger can grow to have a head and body 70-80cm long, with a tail of 12-19cm. The badger has a low-slung body and stands rather stout and squat, with short powerful legs and feet. The head has a prominent white face with two black stripes from the ears to the long tapered snout. The ears are small and are tipped with white hair.
The coarse coat of guard hairs has an overall grey appearance, but each hair has a white or light-coloured tip and is black underneath. Hair from underneath the body is almost wholly black.