Editing European badger (section)

==Distribution and habitat==
The European badger is native to most of Europe. Its range includes Albania, Armenia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Crete, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Ukraine.<ref name=iucn />

The distributional boundary between the ranges of European and [[Asian badger]]s is the [[Volga River]], the European species being situated on the western bank.<ref name=":0" /> The boundary between the ranges of the European and [[Caucasian badger]]s is in the [[North Caucasus]], but a clear boundary has not been defined, and they are [[Sympatry|sympatric]] in some regions, potentially forming a [[hybrid zone]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Abramov |first1=A. V. |last2=Puzachenko |first2=A. Yu. |date=2013 |title=The taxonomic status of badgers (Mammalia, Mustelidae) from Southwest Asia based on cranial morphometrics, with the redescription of ''Meles canescens'' |url=https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3681.1.2 |journal=Zootaxa|volume=3681 |issue=1|pages=44–58 |doi=10.11646/zootaxa.3681.1.2 |pmid=25232583|url-access=subscription }}</ref> They are common in [[European Russia]], with 30,000 individuals having been recorded there in 1990. They are abundant and increasing throughout their range, partly due to a reduction in [[rabies]] in Central Europe. In the UK, badgers experienced a 77% increase in numbers during the 1980s and 1990s.<ref name=iucn /> The badger population in Great Britain in 2012 is estimated to be 300,000.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |url=http://www.britishwildlifecentre.co.uk/planyourvisit/animals/badger.html |title=Badger: ''Meles meles'' |year=2012 |publisher=British Wildlife Centre |access-date=2013-07-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304042857/http://www.britishwildlifecentre.co.uk/planyourvisit/animals/badger.html |archive-date=2016-03-04 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The European badger is found in deciduous and mixed woodlands, clearings, spinneys, pastureland and scrub, including Mediterranean [[maquis shrubland]]. It has adapted to life in suburban areas and urban parks, although not to the extent of red foxes. In mountainous areas it occurs up to an altitude of {{cvt|2000|m}}.<ref name=iucn /><ref name="k162"/>