---
title: "Japanese Badger"
description: "Meles anakuma — Mammals. The Japanese badger (Meles anakuma) is a species of carnivoran of the family Mustelidae, the weasels and their kin."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/japanese-badger
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Japanese Badger

> Meles anakuma — Mammals. The Japanese badger (Meles anakuma) is a species of carnivoran of the family Mustelidae, the weasels and their kin.

- Scientific name: *Meles anakuma*
- Category: `mammals` (Mammals)
- Habitats: `forest` (Forest)
- iNaturalist observations: 647
- Wikidata: [Q1576038](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1576038)
- iNaturalist taxon: [74557](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/74557)

## Names

- en: Japanese Badger
- de: Japanischer Dachs
- es: Tejón japonés
- fr: Blaireau japonais
- nl: Japanse das
- pl: Borsuk japoński

## Countries with the most observations

JP (593)

## Summary

The Japanese badger (Meles anakuma) is a species of carnivoran of the family Mustelidae, the weasels and their kin. Endemic to Japan, it is found on Honshu, Kyushu, Shikoku, and Shōdoshima.  It is assigned to the genus Meles with its close relatives, the European (M. meles), Caucasian (M. canescens) and Asian (M. leucurus) badgers. In Japan, it is called by the name anaguma (穴熊, 貛) meaning "hole-bear", or mujina (むじな, 狢, 貉).

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_badger

## Photo

![Japanese Badger](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/japanese-badger/medium.jpg)

Photo: renshuchu · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/157903575

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/japanese-badger?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).