Badgers have always been important in the UK, with a special home in our hearts from the likes of Beatrix Potter, The Wind in the Willows and Fantastic Mr Fox. If there's appreciation for British wildlife you can bet that there's a badger in there somewhere. You can see footage of some badgers on one of our camera traps here.
Badgers prefer areas of woodland with open farmland across the UK, although they are more densely populated further south. The scientific name for a badger is Meles meles, which translated from Latin, means badger badger. You can recognise badgers from their iconic black and white striped face and grey body. A fully grown adult can measure between 75-100cm, a 15cm tail and weighing around 8-12kg. They are the largest native predator in the UK. Adults have no predators, however their young can be taken by foxes while they are small. On average a badger will live between 5-8 years, permitting they survive to adulthood. Traditionally they are a nocturnal species, but have been known to hunt in the day, when food is in short supply. Similar to a hedgehog, they don't have the best eyesight and often use their big noses to sniff out food.
What do they eat?
Badgers are omnivores, meaning that they can eat both plants and animals, such as:
Fruit - berries, apples and whatever else they can find.
Unsalted peanuts.
Small mammals - mice, rats and squirrels.
Hedgehogs - one of the only animals that can use their thick paws to get around the spines.
Worms - they can eat several hundred earthworms in one night!
Family Matters
For badgers family is everything! They are social animals that stay together in groups called setts or clans that can range from 3-10 individuals. Burrows are often found in woodland areas, that can provide safety for the whole group in their underground home. It may just look like a hole to us, but underground it resembles a rabbit burrow, with lots of different chambers, for sleeping and raising cubs. It has been recorded that many other burrowing species such as foxes and rabbits, often make use of these burrows left behind as badgers pass or move on.
Each sett can consist of multiple generations of the same family living together. Some young may disperse when they are fully grown at a year old, to join clans in different territories, or to find an unoccupied area to start their own. However, unlike other multigenerational species that live together, they hunt and care for their young independently.
Threats
It might seem all breezy for badgers, being the largest predator and still living at home with their parents, however that is not the case. Badgers are threatened by habitat loss and degradation as are all other UK wildlife. Badger are at risk of contracting various diseases and illnesses such as bovine tuberculosis. Although bovine TB does not have an adverse affect on the badgers themselves they can pass it on to cattle, resulting in the culling of badgers in many areas. Although scientific evidence does not show that culling stops the spread of the disease. When one badger is culled, it leaves unoccupied territory for more badgers to move into and thus increase rate of disease transmission. The Wildlife Trusts have an ongoing vaccination plan, with the aim of trapping and vaccinating individuals against the disease to protect wildlife and farm animals. You can read more about The Wildlife Trusts vaccinations scheme here and the Woodland Trust stance on badgers here.
