Scientific name: Meles meles
Size: Badgers grow to around 80cm in length, and have a short tail of around 15cm. They are our heaviest carnivore, weighing up to 18kg
Distribution: Distributed throughout the U.K. but more frequently seen in the south and west
Months seen: All year round
Habitat: Badgers have spread to urban areas, but most still prefer to live in undisturbed woodland
Food: A badgers diet consists of just about anything. They are true omnivores, but are particularly partial to earthworms, mice, frogs and bluebell bulbs. They will even come into urban gardens at night to search for nuts and bread left around bird tables
Special features: Badgers are one of our most shy and harmless mammals. They spend the daytime underground in their dens, known as 'setts', coming out after dark to feed and play.
They can be easily recognised by their two black facial stripes running from the nose, across the eyes and ears, to the back of the neck.
Badgers have stocky bodies and powerful front paws which they use for digging their underground homes. The name 'badger' comes from the French word 'becheur', which means digger.
They often live in large family groups of 10 or more, and the setts are used by successive generations of badgers. A sett can remain in the same location for centuries.
Badgers are meticulously clean animals, spending much of their time grooming themselves, and each other. They change their bedding at regular intervals for fresh grass and leaves. They also dig special dung pits or latrines well away from the entrances to the sett.
An old English name for the badger is 'brock' and some villages, like 'Brockenhurst' and 'Brockhampton' reflect this word in their name, indicating their ancient associations with badgers.
Badgers belong the family of 'Mustelids', which means they're related to otters, pine martens, polecats, stoats and weasels.
Did You Know?
It's been estimated that a badgers sense of smell is around 800 times better than ours. If you want to watch badgers you need to be downwind of them so they can't detect your scent.
How to Find a Badger
Looking for signs of badger activity can be almost as much fun as seeing the animals themselves. It’s a bit like detective work. You’re looking for clues as to where the badgers have been, and where they might be living. It’s helpful to familiarise yourself with these clues as they tell you quite a bit about the lives of these elusive animals.
Mon Jun 25, 2012 6:25 pm
