Mammal Study Merit Badge

1. Four terms, and what makes a mammal a mammal Requirement

Animal, invertebrate, vertebrate and mammal explained, then three characteristics that distinguish mammals from every other animal. The three characteristics are the part with a number attached to it.

2. How the animal kingdom is classified, and three mammals classified Requirement

Explain the classification and where mammals sit in it, then classify three mammals all the way from phylum through species. Seven ranks each, and the species you pick in requirement 3 are the obvious three to use.

3. Field work, or a life history. Do ONE, and they are not equal Often forgotten Requirement

Three routes: 6 hours across two habitats, 15 hours across five different days in one area, or a written life history with no field time at all. Decide this before you plan anything.

THE THREE ROUTES ARE NOT EQUAL, AND THE BADGE PRINTS THEM AS IF THEY WERE. 3(a) is six hours in the field across at least two visits. 3(b) is FIFTEEN hours, and the badge fixes the spread at five different days. It is the longest single commitment on the whole badge. 3(c) needs no field time at all. That is not a reason to pick the short one; sitting still in a wood is how most people who earn this badge remember it. It is a reason to decide now rather than after two outings.

4. One of seven projects: from a book report to two study skins Often forgotten Requirement

Seven routes with nothing in common except that each is one piece of work. Two of them need an institution to agree to help; one needs only a library card.

5. A project that influences the numbers of one or more mammals Often forgotten Requirement

Selected and carried out WORKING WITH YOUR COUNSELOR: agreed before it starts, not reported afterwards. The badge sets no scale and no clock, which makes this the requirement most likely to still be open at the end.

THE SHORTEST REQUIREMENT ON THE BADGE IS THE BIGGEST. Twenty-two words, no clock, no scale and no examples, and "working with your counselor" means the project is agreed with them before it starts, not reported to them afterwards. Raise it at your first meeting. It is the requirement most likely to be the only one still open when everything else is finished.

6. Leave No Trace and the Outdoor Code: how you already followed them Often forgotten Requirement

Two halves: their importance to mammal study, and how you HAVE followed them during field observation, specimen collection and identification. The second half is about requirements 3 and 4, so it has to be read before them.

This asks how you HAVE followed the Leave No Trace Seven Principles and the Outdoor Code during field observation, specimen collection and identification, which is requirement 3, and possibly requirement 4. It is numbered sixth and it is about work you will already have done. Read it before your first outing, because it cannot be answered honestly afterwards by remembering harder.

7. Careers, or a hobby or healthy lifestyle. Do ONE Requirement

The badge states the choice itself. Both routes are research and a discussion with your counselor.

Counselor signs it off Milestone

The completion date is the date you met the requirements, not the date of the signature.

Merit badge requirements are republished annually. A Scout beginning work uses the requirements as they stand then; a Scout already working may finish under the ones they started with. Guide to Advancement 7.0.4.3 governs which applies. This page records the date its copy was read. Check it against the official page before relying on it.