Smith: Badgers are much loved but seldom seen in Wisconsin. But one was spotted near Cedarburg Bog

SAUKVILLE - As director of the UW-Milwaukee field station at Cedarburg Bog who also lives on a property nearby, Jim Reinartz is keenly aware of the flora and fauna of Ozaukee County.

A freshly-dug burrow caught his attention in February as he cross-country skied across a former farm in the Cedarburg Bog complex.

"It was a huge, active excavation," said Reinartz of Saukville. "Lots of sandy soil tossed onto the snow and trails radiating out from the main entrance."

Reinartz had seen dens in the area before, but typically the holes were smaller and more suited to red fox and coyote. 

This burrow was, to borrow from "The Wizard of Oz," a horse of a different color.

Although people had their hunches, for the next three months no one was able to observe the animal responsible for the excavation.

Reinartz decided to ask John O'Connell, a retired psychologist and avid amateur naturalist who serves on the board of the Friends of CedarburgBog, if he'd like to set up a trail camera at the site.

O'Connell readily accepted the challenge and in May erected a camera trap on the secluded slope.

The first few days yielded images of rabbits, O'Connell said. Then a great-horned owl. Then a pair of great-horned owls.

And 10 days after the camera was positioned near the den, a handsome black-and-white striped mammal was captured on digital media: An American badger.

"Finally!" O'Connell said. "And what a sight!"

The badger has been associated with Wisconsin for more than a century. Miners in the 1800s acquired the name "Badgers" due to their underground activities.

The badger was established as the official state animal in 1957. And sports fans across the globe are familiar with "Bucky," the mascot of the University of Wisconsin.

But for all its popularity, real-life sightings of badgers in Wisconsin are about as rare as a two-handed set shot in the Kohl Center.

The reasons are linked to the animal's habits, habitats and population size. 

For starters, badgers are largely nocturnal, so humans rarely see them in light of day. The species is also a master digger and spends most of its time underground.

Although they can be found near human dwellings, most badgers den on slopes or hillsides in rural and often secluded areas.

There have been exceptions, of course. 

One of the most surprising sightings occurred in May 2010 when a badger wandered into a vehicle maintenance building at the U.S. Postal Service facility in downtown Milwaukee. 

In September 2011 a badger was captured on a trail cam placed in Milwaukee's Riverside Park by an Urban Ecology Center intern.

So the species is at least holding its own in the Badger State. 

But the relatively secretive animal is not found in high numbers, even in the best habitat — a Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources report states one badger per 2 to 3 square miles is a "high density."

Although there is no recent robust population estimate of badgers in Wisconsin, a 1976 DNR report put the number at 8,000 to 10,000. 

Today, there are likely "substantially" more badgers found statewide than were estimated 40 years ago, said DNR conservation biologist David Sample.

A genetics study published in 2016 found the Wisconsin badger population to be "doing quite well and distributed pretty much throughout the state," said UWM associate professor Emily Latch, who led the research. "It was great to work on the project, because I don’t think anyone knew quite what to expect."

In Wisconsin, badgers are most commonly found on light, often sandy soils; in agricultural areas primarily devoted to grassland vegetation, and in close association with striped ground squirrels, a primary prey species.

Badgers breed in late summer and bear two to five offspring from March through mid-May, Sample said. 

Adults have a home range of about 3 square miles in summer and frequently move to different dens.

Outfitted with muscular shoulders and forearms and armed with long claws, badgers can dig new burrows with ease. They sometimes also choose to cache prey. 

A badger in Utah became an Internet sensation earlier this year after it was videotaped burying a cow.

Badgers have been protected in Wisconsin since 1955. But from 1927 to 1955 the badger was legally trapped in Wisconsin. The annual take ranged from 4,597 (in 1938-'39) to 128 (1954-’55).

The fur price was $0.29 per pelt in 1955 when the season was closed.

Badgers increased in number and geographic distribution after the trapping season was closed, according to the DNR.

It's difficult to say whether that trend is still increasing. But Reinartz, director of the UWM field station, thinks it could be.

Twenty years ago, Reinartz said the badger wasn't even on the list of species recorded at Cedarburg Bog, which since the 1950s has been one of the most closely studied natural areas in the state.

A road-killed animal changed that 20 years ago. 

Now a live badger has been documented near the property.

"We have a diversity of habitat at Cedarburg Bog, so it's great to see our state animal is able to make use of it," Reinartz said.

O'Connell, who has seen plenty of other members of the weasel family, including pine martens and wolverines, has yet to see a badger with his own eyes.

He's been told the best way to view one is to find an active badger den and stake it out — perhaps for several nights — with a flashlight in hand.

"I love Wisconsin and the out of doors," said O'Connell. "Somehow it doesn’t seem right that I’ve never seen a badger. It’s on my bucket list. But at least now I’ve got pictures of one."

Bog Day: The Friends of the Cedarburg Bog will host an event titled "Celebrate Cedarburg Bog Day" on July 23 at the property. The activities will include tours and educational presentations; the event is free and open to the public. For more information, visit bogfriends.org.