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A trio of badgers in the
wood-land sett, my favourite sett for photography &
watching the badgers at play.
Fairly new to
this game (badger watching), I stumbled on this sett 4
years ago and was delighted to see a family of badgers
emerge in the twilight.
This
sett is not far from my home which is another advantage.
There is also good cover with trees and gorse bushes
surrounding the sett. |
BADGER FACTS Page 1
The content of this web site features the Europian (Eurasian) badger. I cannot deny I am quite
hooked on watching and filming badgers and I'd probably be
concerned if I were to add up the hours devoted to Brock.
The European badger (Meles meles) belongs to
the family of mammals known as the Mustelidae (possessing
musk glands), otherwise known as the weasel family and
includes the otter, stoat, polecat, ferret and pine
marten.
Despite an existing number of subspecies, the European
Badger is the only species to be classified in the genus.
It is indigenous to most of Europe (except where
environmental conditions are not suitable, e.g. the artic
regions of Scandinavia and Russia), Asia and Japan.
However they are particularly abundant in Britain, Ireland
and now Scotland, with the largest abundance found within southern
England.
The name badger is believed to come from the French word ‘becheur’,
meaning digger. The German name for badger is "dachs".
Hence the "dachshund" bred for entering badger dens, and
Hansa's drop tag identification of this critter as a
"badger - dachs".
Badgers are nocturnal animals and have an elusive nature
(no kidding) and are adapted specifically for a life
underground. Contrary to popular belief, badgers do not
hibernate, although they have developed strategies for
conserving their energy and body weight during the winter
months when their normal diet of earthworms and grubs are
not available.
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Badgers have a small head, small eyes, a thick short
neck and a long wedge shaped body with a short tail. They grow
up to 30 inches (750mm) from head to tail, with a 6 inch (150mm)
tail, and can weigh between 8 and 12 kilograms.
Males are slightly larger and heavier than the female.
Aside from the size difference, it is very difficult
to tell a male from a female badger. Male badgers are
called boars, females are sows and the young are cubs.
A badger’s hair is black and white – leading
to a grey appearance from a distance. The badger has a black
chest and forepaws with a prominent black and white striped head
with white tipped ears. However, some badgers may be albino
(white), melanistic (black) or erythristic (ginger).
These colour variations depend on the amount of melanin (a natural
substance that gives colour (pigment) to the hair and skin) in
the badgers hairs and is controlled genetically.
In Britain prior to the 19th century the badger is
believed to have had a wide distribution, but heavy persecution
in the 19th century caused numbers to drop dramatically and by
the end of the 19th century badgers were considered rare. It is
believed that the main cause of decline at this time was due to
pressure exerted by game keepers who saw the badger as an
immediate threat to their livestock.
However during World War I, there was a distinct lack of
game keeping, and this lead to a respite for badger populations
and numbers steadily began to increase and they once again
became fairly common in suitable areas across England. |
An unusual photo taken
with the badger in an upright position with its mouth open,
probably grinning at me thinking . . .
"I better smile in this
one and I might get some peace to go about my business". |
Badger at sett with tree used
as a scratching post |
Up until the 1960’s numbers continued to increase, however
between 1960 and 1972 numbers once again began to decline.
This was due to infertility resulting from the over use of
pesticides and the increase of illegal gassing and shooting on
farms and estates.
However the passing of the Badger Act 1973 (and consequent
amendments 1981, 1991 and 1992) has help seen badger numbers
recover and today they have a total estimated population density
of around 300,000.
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Typical wooded habitat favoured by badgers.
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Habitat
There are many factors which effect where a
badger can live and these can include geology, altitude,
inclination and orientation of slopes, suitable cover and a
mosaic of habitat types. In Britain Badgers occupy a large range
of habitat types and they are often found in woods and copses
(deciduous, coniferous and mixed), scrubs, hedgerows, quarries, moorland, open fields and even in housing estates!
They are however more abundant in areas where
a mosaic of features are present such as deciduous woodland,
pasture and arable habitat types.
Badgers often utilise areas of
sandy soils in preference to clays because this type of soil is
easier to dig and is well drained, however clays are used where
there is little choice.
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Sandy soils can be prone to roof collapse and this is
avoided by badgers actively choosing areas that help consolidate
the material, such as digging into the roots of trees and hedges.
Badger sett density increases with hilliness
and a survey undertaken by the mammal society found that 92 % of setts in Britain were dug into slopes.
Slopes are advantageous to badgers for a variety of
reasons. Firstly slopes help to facilitate in the
excavation of soil, which can spill down the slope as
it is excavated. Sloping land is also well drained and
more likely to be warm and dry and in colder climates
a depth below ground is quickly attained which is
frost proof.
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Above: The sett had been dug into the slope of
a remote hillside with one of the chambers being used by a fox
to raise its cubs. Just yards away, a family of badgers were
rearing four cubs. Rabbits were also happily hopping around the
hillside.
I grabbed a few photographs of the mother and
the cubs before the cubs were shot by the farmer.
There is a balance to maintain and foxes do
take lambs, evident from the bones outside this temporary den. |
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Left: A
sandy soil sett located under the roots of some some small roadside fir
trees.
Right: Sandy soil again but this sett is active in an
open field near to a boundary fence. A large soil heap
indicates a well established sett. |
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Food must be plentiful and varied throughout
the year. A badger’s food supply is undoubtedly one of the most
important biotic factors influencing habitat selection. A
badger’s population density, group and territory size are all
influenced mainly by food availability with particular
importance attached to earthworm abundance (Lumbricus
terrestris) in particular. However this main food source
does need to be supplemented with a wide range of other food
items and this is obtained through a varied, rather than uniform
habitat.
Badgers would choose habitats that are
secluded if they had a choice, but nearness to habitation does
not deter them from using an otherwise desirable site, and it is
human interference that mainly causes badgers a problem. If a
sett is repeatedly or drastically interfered with, the badgers will
leave if there is an alternative site to go too.
Cover is another important factor when
choosing a habitat as this allows the inconspicuous emergence
and also allows cubs to play near the sett entrance without
being visible to potential predators. This is another reason as
to why most badgers are found in deciduous woods, mixed woods
and copses. However hedgerows and scrubs can provide an adequate
alternative if the latter is not present.
Thus an area must fulfil the following
ecological requirements to be suitable for badger location:
• Soils which are well drained and easy
to dig, but firm enough to prevent roof collapse,
• Adequate food supply available
throughout all seasons,
• Sufficient cover to allow inconspicuous
emergence from the sett
• Relatively free from disturbance.
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Setts
Badgers live in setts, a network of
underground tunnels which they dig using their strong claws.
Each social group can number up to about 15 badgers and is
typically headed by a dominant male and female.
Setts are
usually found on sloping ground where there is some cover, for
example in woods and copses, especially if attached to
pastureland. Setts usually comprise a network of interconnected
tunnels and chambers and are typically excavated in soil that is
well drained and easy to dig.
Several categories of Setts have been
identified. Every badger group has one main sett which is
occupied continuously and is used for breeding purposes.
They
are usually large, well established setts which have been excavated by several
generations of badger and are therefore vital for the badger’s
survival. Main setts have a number of entrances, used and
disused, with large spoil heaps. Main setts are always active
with well trodden paths.
In addition to the main sett, most groups
also have one or more additional setts within their territories.
These secondary setts fall into three categories: - annexe setts
(many well used entrances and well worn paths linked to the main
setts; not always in use), subsidiary setts (a variable number
of entrances and not directly connected to other setts; not
always in use) and outlier setts (with 1 or 2 holes, no defined
paths and only sporadically used).
(Main text content -
Badger Trust)
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Above: Entrance holes in the field and the
other side of the fence at the roadside. Probably all part of
the same sett. |
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