Badgermole

Badgermoles are gigantic blind mammals which inhabit the Earth Kingdom. Living mostly underground, they were the first Earthbenders and later taught humans the art.

History
Badgermoles taught the first human Earthbenders, Oma and Shu, so that the lovers could meet in secret. They and the badgermoles created a maze of tunnels which had crystals on the ceiling that showed the way to each other. Toph has mentioned that she learned Earthbending from badgermoles just like the first Earthbenders. She had run away from home and met them in a cave. She said their Earthbending wasn't just fighting, but more of an extension of their senses and their way of interacting with the world.

Badgermoles are shown Earthbending many times. Sokka, Chong, Moku, and the other nomads rode on these moles' backs to escape the labyrinth. During Earth Rumble VI, badgermoles were used to clean up rocks off the ring.

Due to the badgermole's importance in Earth Kingdom history, they influence much of the architecture of the Earth Kingdom, such as the throne of the Earth King in Ba Sing Se and the two statues present outside of the Earth King's palace, both of which have the appearance of sitting badgermoles. Despite the significance of the statues, they were launched at Team Avatar by the Earthbending guards when Team Avatar attempted to break into the palace.

Anatomy
Badgermoles are giant Earthbending creatures. They have brown fur with one white and two black stripes running down their backs and white, mask-like patches on their faces. They have long tails and five claws on each paw. Badgermoles use their noses and sensitive whiskers to inspect objects in front of them. They then lick them to show their affection, just as they did to Toph when they first met. They enjoy hearing music, which seems to put them in an almost tranquil state and you can get them to do just about anything. The Badgermole seems to be the natural predator of the Wolfbats. Badgermoles use Earthbending to make tunnels and travel underground, where they live and hunt for prey. Although they have vestigial eyes (probably leftover from some long-forgotten time when they spent more time above ground), Badgermoles are more-or-less blind, but their Earthbending abilities allow them to feel the presence of their surroundings in recompense. If fully and properly tamed, Badgermoles can be used as beasts of burden and perform tasks such as paving pathways or clearing stone debris, such as during the Earth Rumble, when one was used as a make-shift zamboni to clear away the rubble from the fights.

Trivia



 * Badgermoles are the only original animal benders not to be endangered.
 * Badgermoles are blind like Toph, so they got along well and in return taught Toph how to Earthbend.
 * The Boulder has a tattoo of a purple Badgermole on his back.
 * Badgermoles can be domesticated.
 * Badgermoles are the only one of the original animal benders that is not known to be a companion to an Avatar. Roku had the Dragon Fang as a lifelong friend and Aang had Appa the Sky Bison. No known Earth Kingdom Avatar had a Badgermole companion, but if they did, it was never shown.
 * Badgermoles are music lovers.

Connection
The Badgermole resembles a cross between the American badger and the common mole. The facial coloring and white back stripe of the Badgermole resembles the badger whereas its claws, tail, and eyes are indicative of the mole's.