Scientists have accidentally discovered that the American Badger has astonishing digging prowess as it was caught on camera burying a cow carcass several times bigger than itself, a previously unrecorded behavior.

According to Gizmodo, scientists from the University of Utah were not in the Great Basin to study badgers, but to observe the ecology of scavengers during the winter season.

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For that purpose, they set up seven calf carcasses in Utah's Grassy Mountains in January 2016 to document how scavengers will take advantage of such an easy meal through a camera trap.

The researchers were expecting to see vultures and other opportunistic birds feast on a cow carcass. But images from the camera trap revealed a surprising turn of events.

A badger, a nocturnal creature, was seen digging, kicking up dirt until it covered up the dead beast both during the day and night - a remarkable behavior considering that the calf was about three to four times larger than the badger.

"When I first got there I was bummed because it's hard to get these carcasses, to haul them out and set them up,"  Evan Buechley, a member of the team said.

The badger retreated to its den after completely burying the calf but repeatedly revisited the site to feed on the carcass. This habit went on until March.

The discovery was published in the journal the Western North American Naturalist.

"That such a small animal would expend the time and energy to bury a carcass larger than itself shows the tenacity and determination that it takes to survive in nature," wildlife biologist at the University of New Mexico Robert Harrison told NewsWeek. He was not involved in the study.

According to NewsWeek, badgers are omnivores that prefer rodents like round squirrels, prairie dogs, and mice for food. They also eat roots, berries, and carrion.

Badgers can be found from Mexico to the U.S. but are now classified as endangered.