Slice of Wisconsin: You Can’t Think of the State without the Badgers

There are so many traditions built around the Wisconsin Badgers,

Game Day and the mascot, which in 1889 was a real badger.

It didn't go well. Eventually, the animal was replaced by a person.

An on-campus contest chose the official mascot name,

fucking him, you badger. Still, Wisconsin's official animal is a badger.

But do you know which animal almost earned this title instead?

Gray squirrel, white tail deer, black bear?

The answer is coming up.

The original badger's nickname is actually associated with lead miners in the state,

not the animals. It was the 1820s and the miners often didn't have shelter in the winters,

so they lived like badgers, digging tunnels into the hillsides where they worked.

So was there almost another state animal?

Yes, the white tail deer, which later became the official wildlife animal.

But the history surrounding the badgers is a true slice of Wisconsin.

I'm Terry Barr for the Civic Media Radio Network.