# How Long Do Badgers Live?

> Badger lifespan is typically Around 6 years wild (up to 14). What shortens or extends life, life stages, and status (Least Concern).

- **Species:** Badger (*Meles meles*)
- **Conservation status:** Least Concern
- **Diet:** Omnivore (mostly earthworms)
- **Habitat:** Woodland, hedgerows, farmland, grassland
- **Lifespan:** Around 6 years wild (up to 14)
- **Top speed:** 30 km/h (19 mph) in short bursts
- **Canonical HTML:** https://globalanimalguide.org/animals/badger/how-long-do-badger-live/
- **Parent profile:** https://globalanimalguide.org/animals/badger/
- **Last reviewed:** 2026-07-16

## Quick answer

The European badger is a stocky, powerfully built mammal famous for the black-and-white stripes on its face. It is nocturnal, lives in family groups called clans inside large underground burrow systems known as setts, and feeds mainly on earthworms. Badgers weigh up to about 12 kg (26 lb) and typically live around 6 years in the wild.

## Who should skip this page

Skip this if you need a prognosis for one named animal. This page is a species lifespan range.

## Behaviour and the sett

Badgers are highly social and live in clans of up to a dozen animals that share a sett — a maze of tunnels and chambers dug into a bank or woodland floor, often used and enlarged by generations of badgers over decades. They are strongly nocturnal, emerging at dusk to forage and patrol well-worn paths, and they keep their setts scrupulously clean, regularly changing the dry grass and leaves they use as bedding.

## Help protect the Badger

Even familiar animals lose ground as wild habitat keeps shrinking worldwide.

[Donate to wildlife protection](https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/donate/)

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Source: Global Animal Guide (https://globalanimalguide.org/animals/badger/how-long-do-badger-live/). Licensed CC BY-NC 4.0 — free for non-commercial reuse with attribution.