11

Wikipedia claims that badgers sometimes eat coyotes:

In North America, coyotes sometimes eat badgers and vice versa, but the majority of their interactions seem to be mutual or neutral.[19] American badgers and coyotes have been seen hunting together in a cooperative fashion.[20]

[...]

  1. ^ Kiliaan HP, Mamo C, Paquet PC (1991). "A Coyote, Canis latrans, and Badger, Taxidea taxus, interaction near Cypress Hills Provincial Park, Alberta". Canadian Field Naturalist. 105: 122–12.

  2. ^ Cahalane VH (1950). "Badger-coyote "partnerships"". Journal of Mammalogy. 31: 354–355. doi:10.1093/jmammal/31.3.354-a.

-"Badger", Wikipedia

I was already familiar (and was able to find many references to) the cooperative habits of coyotes and badgers, and it doesn't seem surprising that coyotes might sometimes eat badgers. But the reverse is much more surprising, and I have been unable to find any verification for it. I've found other references to the same citation, but I haven't been able to find the citation itself.

Question: Have there really been known instances where a badger killed and/or ate a coyote?

Improve this question
3
  • 3
    Are you looking for proof that badgers kill and eat live coyotes? Or are you looking for proof that if a badger saw a recently dead coyote, it would eat it?
    – probably_someone
    Mar 1, 2018 at 5:01
  • 2
    @probably_someone: either one would meet the claims stated, although honestly I'm hoping for later, because that's much cooler.
    – Arcanist Lupus
    Mar 1, 2018 at 6:29
  • You may have already found it, but this couple of pages from The Prarie Naturalist 38 has research saying that they believe some fox kits avoided predation from a badger, but they did not actually witness any. They cite the Kiliaan, H. P. L., C. Mamo, and P. C. Paquet paper in it, though no direct reference can be found.
    – Dispenser
    Mar 1, 2018 at 21:55

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
5
+50

According to Cooperative Predation by Coyotes on Badgers Journal of Mammalogy, Volume 61, Issue 2, 20 May 1980, Pages 375–376:

Although badgers occasionally kill and eat coyote pups (Young, 1951), to our knowledge there is no previous report of coyotes preying on badgers.

So this article is saying that it is the first report of a coyote eating a badger, but that badgers eating coyotes was previously known.

The "Young" reference is:

Young, S. P. 1951. Part 1, Its history, life habits, economic status, and control. Pages 1—226 in S. P. Young and H. H. T. Jackson. The clever coyote. Wildlife Management Institute, Washington, DC.

Improve this answer
1
  • Not quite the army of ravenous badgers I was hoping for, but this is what I was asking for. Thank you!
    – Arcanist Lupus
    Mar 8, 2018 at 7:16

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .