Western Morning News (Saturday)
The stars in stripes
Badgers are an unmistakable part of our fauna, but are wary and generally keep out of sight. Charlie Elder examines their habits and the signs that indicate the presence of these shy nocturnal mammals
Some mammals are so familiar that they hardly need introduction, the badger among them. And yet, easy as it may be to identify such a widespread one-of-a-kind species in Britain, these secretive, nocturnal animals tend to keep well out of sight.
A common view of a live badger is the fleeting sighting of a low, heavy shape caught in car headlights as it crosses a country lane at night – white facial stripes shining in the beams like road markings.
Even if one does not often spot a badger out and about, they allow us to play nature detective by leaving clues which indicate their presence.
Badgers are powerful diggers, with strong claws, and excavate burrows known as setts, that have extensive tunnel systems as well as underground chambers for resting or raising young. Often dug into a slope within the shelter of woodland, the setts have a number of entrances and, given the size of the occupants, these holes are large and broad. Spoil heaps of excavated earth are piled up in front of the entrances and the soil typically contains dried plant material used as bedding, which these tidy dwellers regularly replenish.
Fox dens, on the other hand, lack multiple entrances and have a musky smell, while rabbit holes are circular in shape and smaller. Some well-established setts occupied by generations of badgers are more than a century old.
Badgers are social creatures and several adults and cubs may inhabit a sett. The evidence of activity is visible in the vicinity, including scratch marks at the base of trees and shallow latrine pits scraped in the ground.
Badgers also follow regular routes around their home ranges, wearing well-trodden paths through vegetation. They can look like trails created by people, but take winding routes up and down banks, across lanes, and beneath hedgerows and fences. Numerous woodland dwellers share pathways, though those created by deer will not pass low under a fence – and here the straight grey, black and white hairs of a badger may be found caught in twists of barbed wire. Badger footprints have large pads and forwarding pointing toes tipped with the long marks of their nonretractable claws.
If one comes across a badger by torchlight or foraging at dawn and dusk, it is the conspicuous black and white face which stands out above all else. They rely on a keen sense of smell, so may not detect people located downwind who remain quiet and still. Running away, these sturdy, short-legged mustelids, related to stoats and otters, have a pale tail and silvery-grey body. Occasional individuals have very light-coloured fur.
The badger’s main food is earthworms, and they leave tell-tale scuff marks in lawns where they have been foraging. They can consume dozens of worms a night, and will also eat small mammals, hedgehogs, berries and nuts. In the autumn they put on weight to help see them through the colder months when they are less active above ground.
Badgers usually mate in spring – though female implantation of the fertilised eggs is delayed until the following winter, with a litter of typically two or three cubs born early in the year. The playful young emerge from the sett in spring and are independent by late summer.
Badgers have been widely persecuted down the centuries. They are culled under licence in some areas, including the Westcountry, under a controversial programme to prevent the spread of bovine TB, with moves towards vaccination to bring an end to the scheme. Large numbers are also killed on roads. Despite this, these protected mammals, with an average lifespan of 5-8 years, remain common across the country, inhabiting a range of habitats, and the greatest concentrations are found in the South West.
Those who live near a badger’s sett may regularly chance across these wary animals, or even have badgers visiting their garden for titbits. Organised badger-watching sessions run at some active setts provide an opportunity to enjoy close encounters with individuals more accustomed to the proximity of people. They are also partial to unsalted peanuts, so can be encouraged to feed within view.
For such large and boldly marked mammals they have an impressive ability to evade us – making sightings of these unmistakable and charismatic animals all the more memorable.