Setts Of Badgers In Suburbs Of Shanghai

Badger (Meles meles), belongs to Carnivores, Mustelidae, Melinae,Meles, only species of Meles.It is a medium-sizes mammals. Badger is widely distributed in Europe and Asiad, and is distributed throughout China except Taiwan and Hainan provinces.The Asian Badger(Meles meles) is a species of carnivorous mammal in the family Mustelidae. It has a large range including the southern portion of Russia east of the Urals, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, China, and Korea. The species can be found within areas of high elevation (perhaps up to 4000 m) in the Ural Mountains, the Tian Shan mountains, and the Tibetan Plateau. Asian Badgers are similar in appearance to the European Badger. The ranges of the two species are separated in places by the Volga River.Badger is a burrowing animal and is weak in migrating,It cannot live once the caves is damaged. Unlike other mammals, it couldn't recover by themselves even the habitat recovered. With the development of the city, the habitat of the badger was rapidly reduced and seriously fragmentated, coupled with other factors,such as over-hunting, it is under the threat of extinct.. As the largest wild mammals in Shanghai,it is under special state protection.To build a harmonious society, protection of local badger and restore the number of badger populations in the wild in Shanghai is with great importance. The primary importance to protect and manage a threatened species, is to get a deeper understanding about its biological characteristics, such as population distribution, population size, habitat, habits and so on. From September 2007 to June 2009, there is a research on the Shanghai badger,including population distribution, population size, habitat characteristics and so on.In the end of 2007, thereare 15 setts in Shanghai including Jiading, Songjiang, Jinshan, Fengxian. To June 2009, there are 5 setts have been seriously damaged. At present, with an estimated population of not more than 25,there are only 10 setts in Shanghai and Fengxian.By a preliminary study of setts of badgers suburban,15 setts and 173 entrances were recorded. The results showed that the entrances number and total area of sett vary widely, in which the numbers of entrances are from 3 to 24 and the area of the minimum one is 5.5 m and the maximum one is 129.8m2. Badgers in Shanghai preferentially selected sites with bamboo forest in the mound of rural homestead, s backyard or in the low mountains. Currently in Shanghai, there are only less than 10 populations survived.By a seriously interference,they are under the threat of extinct.In the Shanghai area, Badger is like found in bamboo grove of the rural homestead backyard and hills, it is prefer to clawing a hole in the easy-mining drainage. The setts is have no relevance to food sources and vegetation cover. As the Shanghai suburbs frequent human activities, badger hole nests by human interference is more serious..By a seriously interference,they are under the threat of extinctIn the history,the badger was distributed in all rural areas of Shanghai, due to the human interference, badger distribution is dramatically reduced. At present, there are only 10 populations In Shanghai,and the habitat fragmentation seriously, badger are under the verge of disappearing.To offer gamblers better protection, We suggest that:there are call for Imperativeness of Strengthening Conservation and Management in Zhuanghang, Tagang and Tanma mountain,and there must have an Ex-situ conservation of badgers in Shongjiang,and it could initiated a programme of ecological restoration now.