Orph the Badger
Posted at 10:46 am October 30, 2009 by Louella Miller
The Backstage Pass program at the San Diego Zoo has added a new member to its star-studded cast. As far as leading men go, this critter is not one of the typical ones you might think of when you hear that title. Instead, he would be along the lines of a Danny Devito or Joe Pecsi. He’s the punky little street fighter type: a North American badger!
Louella brings Orph close to Backstage Pass participants.
Now if you run into one of these beasties while out camping, you need to give it a wide berth. But make your way over to Backstage Pass and you can safely see one up close. You’ll also learn the incredible story of how Orph came to join our stellar cast of rock stars!
Louella Miller is an animal trainer at the San Diego Zoo. Read her previous post, Two-toed Sloth Training.
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October 30th, 2009 at 11:45 am
Please post more about Orph, I can not visit the zoo but would love to know more about this interesting creatrue. I was raised in Michigan and know from first hand experience that badgers are not to be messed with. I would love to know more…please
October 30th, 2009 at 2:37 pm
I wholeheartedly agree with CAT – more background on Orph, please. We see a picture of Louella holding Orph, so presumably he is a little less feisty than your run-of-the-mill wild badger. What does he do in the show? Does he perform any special tricks? How easy was he to train and did you start when he was very young? I would also like to know if badgers spray like skunks do.
October 30th, 2009 at 7:17 pm
Give him time he will be came the big star. I have like badger for a long time. Nice to see that SDZ is letting people git to know him.
October 30th, 2009 at 9:18 pm
Super cool ! !
I read somewhere that badger hair makes the VERT BEST shaving brushes. Any chance that Orpa will be the start of a new line of men’s products at the Zoo gift shop?
October 31st, 2009 at 2:12 am
Orph is lovely, but how different from badgers in the UK. I can see he’s a badger from his stripey face but his fur is a different shade – ours are a silvery grey colour. Isn’t it interesting how the same animal can look so similar but different in other countries?
October 31st, 2009 at 9:39 am
I enjoyed your blog entries and video about the two-toed sloth. Now it’s fun to read about Orph. The teaser about how Orph attained rock star status is tantalizing, indeed, but for those of us who live far away, will there be a future blog entry about Orph’s amazing feats (and how he got his name) or maybe even an amazing video of Louella and Orph in action? We have a handsome badger at my local zoo and it is quite enjoyable watching him locomote around. Badgers have an interesting gait!
Thanks for the update and for introducing us to Orph!
October 31st, 2009 at 6:43 pm
Sounds like Orph is quite a fellow. I noticed that Louella does not appear to be wearing leather gloves which surprised me. Orph must not be ferocious with Louella.
I also look forward to learning more about this unusual fellow, similar to what I learned from Louella’s blog about the two toed sloth.