Page 24 - Oundle Life March 2021

BADGER
ACTIVITY
An exciting time of year...
Badgers are an iconic British wild mammals who were historically rural dwellers, but now are commonly found in urban areas, particularly with the increased sprawl
fresh digging and bedding collection, they are now hunkered down for winter. They do not hibernate but emerge much less to forage.
of urban development. Have you seen any or their signs of activity?
Members of the mustelid family, they live in mixed social groups and reside in underground tunnels and chambers called a Sett. Badgers are active at night and their main diet is the earthworm, consuming, on average, over 200 a night. They play an important role in seed dispersal and germination and help keep a natural balance and control of insects. They are exceptional diggers and engineers of the natural landscape.
Badgers have delayed implantation, meaning they can mate almost any time of year, but won’t have cubs until now
Females are about to give birth, usually around February, to this year’s cubs. Badgers have delayed implantation, meaning they can mate almost any time of year, but won’t have cubs until now. Cubs are cared for underground for a couple of months and will tentatively emerge around May.
Maybe you have badgers visiting your garden, although it might have decreased slightly during these winter months, or have you seen their freshly dug sett entrances with large excavations of soil (called a spoil heap) when you’ve been out walking?
It is an exciting time of year for our badgers, after spending the past few months feeding up and preparing their setts, with
You may have come across one of their toilets (latrine) which is one or more pits that they dig
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