Badger Vs Raccoon: The Stripe-Faced Predator & Masked Bandit

If you just have a passing glance, then you might not notice any difference between these animals. But if you take a closer look, then you will get to know that there are a lot of differences between these animals. Both of these animals have almost the same size and also come with a grayish color body but both of these animals have some distinct markings on their faces. Raccoons have black face masks while badgers also have black faces but also come with white stripes on the face which go from the nose to the back end of their body.

In this article, we are going to compare these animals from every aspect of their life. Before diving deep into their features, let’s have a look at the basic features of these creatures.

Badger

Badgers are very well-known animals who are found in every corner of the world. However, mainly they reside in the European and American continents. They like to live in open fields or grasslands like sandy loam soils where they could easily dig and find their prey. They have powerful but stocky and short legs. They are easily identifiable from the white stripes markings on their face or from their very huge claws. They are 10 to 26 inches long and weigh anywhere around 10 to 40 pounds.

Raccoon

Raccoons or Procyon lotor are medium-sized mammals that mainly reside in the North American region. The body weight of raccoons according to the habitat where they live. On average, the weight lies between 20 to 30 pounds. Male raccoons are a little heavier than female raccoons. They are omnivores animals and nocturnal by nature. The diet of the raccoon mainly consists of invertebrates, food, and vegetables.

They have a grayish color fur coat on their body which is very dense and could easily insulate their body from the cold weather. The most prominent features of the raccoon are its dexterous front paws and black facial mask. Overall, they are considered very smart and creative mammals who can remember things even after the passage of three years.

Main differences between raccoon and badger

The key difference between these animals exists in the form of their diet, dens, and attacking method. Both of these creatures have the almost same size and weight. We are going to go deeper into their comparison and will let you know all the main differences which exist between these animals.

Dens: badger vs raccoon

Badgers like to do a lot of digging and it is normal for them to dig and make dens for themselves. They also dig sometimes in search of prey. Most of the time, they dig to establish a resting place for themselves and they also utilized their dens for mating purposes. Sometimes, they make very big burrows that are interconnected through several tunnels.

For Raccoons, Dens also have special importance in their life because they spend most of their time inside the den as they are nocturnal animals and mostly come out at the night only. They also partially hibernate in the winter and they prepare their dens, especially for the winter.

Diet: raccoon vs badger

Diet attracts both of them. Both are omnivore animals and take a variety of diets available in the market. Badgers mainly take rodents, squirrels, moles, rats, insects, etc. They also love to eat honey larvae. Raccoon doesn’t have any specific diet. They take whatever suitable is available according to the situation. They may eat plants, garbage, rodents, insects, etc.

Destruction: Badger vs Raccoon

Badgers mainly do destruction while building their dens. They dig everywhere as a regular activity. It may be on the sidewalks, driveways, or in the homes. In this activity, they could do much structural damage to roads, houses, and gardens.

Compared to badgers, raccoons are much more destructive. They might come into your home for stealing your pet food and destruct your whole garden. They rip apart vents and bend at the entrance of your houses while getting inside your houses.

Similarities between Badgers and Raccoons

• They are omnivore animals.
• Both are smart and intelligent.
• Both are durable.
• Both of them have the almost same size.
• They are nocturnal animals.

Badger vs Raccoon: who would win a fight?

If we are going to compare Raccoon with a badger then first of all we must clarify which specie of badger we are talking about as there are several species of the badger while Raccoon has only one specie. However, only three main species of the badger named American, European, and honey badger could compete with the Raccoon on equal terms as other species are much smaller.

For instance, if we take the American badger as a competitor of the raccoon, then there are more chances that the American badger would be the ultimate winner. You can analyze this from this point bobcats and coyotes are the main predators of adult raccoons while these predators don’t go near American badgers. It means they consider American badgers more strong than Raccoon. American badgers could also challenge mountain lions.

We also know that the American badgers are the smallest among above mentioned three badger species. Thus, it is obvious that Raccoon also could not win the fight against the European and honey badger. Badgers are also more durable and come with superior weapons as compared to Raccoons. However, if two raccoons come for a fight with a badger, then they might win after a very long fight.

Frequently asked questions

Conclusion

Badgers and Raccoons are animals that belong to different families. They have some similarities and differences. We have tried our best to highlight most of them. However, when it comes to fighting between them then it is obvious that badger can beat raccoons easily as it has many superior ends compared to raccoons. Although they rarely encounter each other as badgers like to live in dry areas while Raccoons prefer wet areas.