There are not many American badgers that make the Thompson-Okanagan region home but several have been spotted in recent months, sitting in hot, dry habitats on their impressively large burrows.

These carnivores are built for digging burrows to find food, make overnight shelters or places to raise their kits.

iN PHOTOS: Endangered American badgers popping up in Thompson-Okanagan | iNFOnews.ca — This badger lives along a trail in the Valleyview neighbourhood in Kamloops.
SUBMITTED/Carmela Dicostanzo-Corkle

They have partly webbed feet, muscular front legs and long nails that slice easily through the dirt. They even have a third, translucent eyelid that prevents dirt from getting in.

Badgers in BC are considered endangered with only 250 to 400 of them provincewide and roughly 30 in the Okanagan, according to Wildsafebc Central Okanagan.

The unique looking animals are under threat from vehicle collisions, habitat loss and poisoning when the mice and rats they prey on have eaten rodenticides.

Due to their small numbers, it is highly encouraged to report badger sightings or collisions in the Okanagan to the BC Badgers Team at www.badgers.bc.ca, or by reporting to conservation if one has been hit by a car.