ASHLAND — Ashland County trail cameras have picked up two sightings of an elusive, nocturnal animal native to Ohio.
The Ohio Division of Wildlife (ODW) shared a video of a badger sighting in Ashland County from Oct. 17.
It is the second Ashland County sighting this year. The first was in August in Montgomery Township; the second, most recent sighting happened in Vermillion Township.
“These reports were only about a mile and a half apart and may be of the same animal,” ODW wildlife biologist Katie Dennison said.
American badger’s population in Ohio and the United States is largely unknown because of their nocturnal and solitary behaviors.
“Badger sightings are not common in Ohio – we generally receive fewer than 10 confirmed reports each year,” Dennison said. “Ohio is the eastern edge of badger range in the U.S., and they are primarily found in the western part of the state.”
Over the past 10 years, one to seven sightings have been confirmed each year in Ohio, according to the 2024 furbearer monitoring report. Most confirmed badger sightings are ones that were hit by a vehicle or inadvertently trapped, with occasional trail camera reports.
“We don’t really ever hear about them,” Ashland County Wildlife Officer Evan Huegel said.
The ODW received the video through the online wildlife species sighting reporting forum. ODW is especially interested in receiving reports of badgers, bobcats, black bears, wild turkeys and barn owls, among other species.
Huegel encouraged anyone with footage of badgers in the area to send them to report them online via the ODW’s website, wildohio.gov.
“As much data we can get, the better,” he said.
Badgers have a white stripe that extends over the head from the nose. They have white fur around their eyes and black cheek patches, or “badges,” for which they are named, according to ODW’s website.
Badgers favor grassland habitats, such as pastures or fields, where they are likely to find prey below or on the ground, including mice, squirrels, small birds and eggs.
They are excellent diggers, using their claws to find the prey or burrow under ground if they sense a threat.
Huegel said they are opportunistic eaters, meaning they will eat what they can find, but they do not cause nuisances, such as eating in trash or attacking livestock.