Badgers are short-legged omnivores in the family Mustelidae, which also includes the otters, polecats, weasels and wolverines. They belong to the caniform suborder of carnivoran mammals.

The 11 species of badger are grouped in three subfamilies: Melinae (Eurasian badgers), Mellivorinae (the honey badger or ratel) and Taxideinae (the American badger). The Asiatic stink badgers of the genus Mydaus were formerly included within Melinae but recent genetic evidence indicates these are actually members of the skunk family, placing them in the taxonomic family Mephitidae.

The behavior of badgers differs by family, but all shelter underground, living in burrows called setts, which may be very extensive. Some are solitary, moving from home to home, a collective name for a group of badgers is a cete (sēt), but badger colonies are called clans. Cete size is variable from two to fifteen. Badgers can run or gallop at 25–30 km/h (16–19 mph) for short periods of time. Badgers are nocturnal.

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