Eurasian Badger
Encyclopedia
The European Badger is a species of badger
of the genus
Meles
, native to almost all of Europe. It is classed as Least Concern
for extinction
by the IUCN, due to its wide distribution and large population.
The European badger is a social burrowing animal which lives on a wide variety of plant and animal food. It is very fussy over the cleanliness of its burrow, and defecates in latrines. Cases are known of European badgers burying their dead family members. Although ferocious when provoked, a trait which was once exploited for the blood sport
of badger-baiting
, the European badger is generally a peaceful animal, having been known to share its burrows with other species such as rabbit
s, red foxes
and raccoon dogs
. Although it does not usually prey on domestic stock, the species is nonetheless alleged to damage livestock through spreading bovine tuberculosis.
word "brok", which also means badger. For example, in Irish Gaelic, the word for badger is broc. The name "bawson" is derived from "bawsened", which refers to something striped with white. "Pate" is a local name which was once popular in northern England. The name "badget" was once common, but restricted to Norfolk
, while "earth dog" was used in Southern Ireland
.
. The modern species originated during the early Middle Pleistocene, with fossil sites occurring in Episcopia
, Grombasek, Süssenborn, Hundsheim
, Erpfingen, Koneprusy
, Mosbach
2, Stránská Skála. A comparison between fossil and living specimens shows a marked progressive adaptation to omnivory, namely in the increase in the molar's surface area and the modification of the carnassials. Occasionally, badger bones may be discovered in strata from much earlier dates, due to the species' burrowing habits.
and short, with five toes on each foot. The limbs are short and massive, with naked lower surfaces on the feet. The claws are strong, elongated and have an obtuse end, which assists in digging. The claws are non-retractable, and the hind claws wear with age. Old badgers are sometimes found with their hind claws nearly completely worn away from constant digging. Their snouts, which are used for digging and probing, are muscular and flexible. The eyes are small and the ears short and tipped with white. Whisker
s are present on the snout and above the eyes. Boars typically have broader heads, thicker necks and relatively pointed and narrow tails than sows, which are sleeker, have narrower, less domed heads and fluffier tails. Their guts are longer than those of red foxes
. The small intestine
has a mean length of 5.36 metres, and lacks a cecum
. Both sexes have three pairs of nipple
s, which are more developed in females. European badgers cannot flex their backs as marten
s, polecats and wolverine
s can, nor can they stand fully erect like honey badgers, though they can move quickly at full gallop. Adults measure 25-30 cm (10-12 in) in shoulder height, 60–90 cm (24-36 in) in body length, 12–24 cm (4.7-9.5 in) in tail length, 7.5–13 cm (3-5 in) in hind foot length and 3.5–7 cm (1.4-2.8 in) in ear height. Males (or boars) slightly exceed females (or sows) in measurements but can weigh considerably more. Their weight varies seasonally, growing from spring to autumn and reaches a peak during the onset of hibernation
. During the summer, they weigh 7–13 kg (15-27 lb) and 15–17 kg (33-38 lb) in autumn. Sows can attain a top weight of around 17.2 kg (38 lb) while exceptionally large boars have been reported in autumn. The heaviest verified was 27.2 kg (60 lb), though unverified specimens have been reported to 30.8 kg (68 lb). Although their sense of smell is acute, their eyesight is monochromatic, as they have been known not to react to red lanterns. Only moving objects attract their attention. Their hearing is no higher than that of humans.
European badger skulls are quite massive, heavy and elongated. Their braincases are oval in outline, while the facial part of their skulls is elongated and narrow. Adults have prominent sagittal crest
s which can reach 15 mm tall in old males, and are more strongly developed than those of honey badgers. Aside from anchoring the jaw muscles, the thickness of the crest protects the skull from hard blows. Similarly to martens, the dentition of European badgers is well suited for their omnivorous diet. Their incisor
s are small and chisel
-shaped, their canine teeth are prominent and their carnassial
s are not overly specialised. Their molar
s are flattened and adapted for grinding. Their jaws are powerful enough to crush most bones ; there is one record of a provoked badger biting down on a man's wrist so severely that it had to be amputated. The dental formula is:
Scent gland
s are present below the base of the tail and on the anus
. The subcaudal gland secretes a musky smelling cream coloured fatty substance, while the anal glands secrete a stronger smelling yellowish-brown fluid.
in badgers is known, and albinos are not uncommon. Albino badgers can be pure white or yellowish with pink eyes. Erythristic
badgers are more common than the former, being characterised by having a sandy-red colour on the usually black parts of the body. Yellow badgers are also known.
, and large as 150 ha in marginal areas. Badger territories can be identified by the presence of communal latrine
s and well worn paths. There is little evidence of a dominance hierarchy, with animals within and outside a group showing considerable tolerance of each other. Boars tend to mark their territories more actively than sows, with their territorial activity increasing during the mating season in early spring. Badgers groom
each other very thoroughly with their claws and teeth. Grooming may have a social function. They are crepuscular
and nocturnal in habits. Aggression among badgers is largely associated with territorial defence and mating. When fighting, badgers bite each other on the neck and rump, while running and chasing. Injuries incurred in such fights can be severe and sometimes fatal. When attacked by dogs or sexually excited, badgers may raise their tails and fluff up their bodies. European badgers have a high vocal repertoire; when threatened, they emit deep growls. They bark when surprised, and whicker when playing or are distressed. When fighting, they emit low kekkering noises.
in boars occurs in varying periods ; on average, it is attained at the age of 12–15 months, while in others it is attained as early as 8–9 months or as late as two years. They are normally fecund during January–May, with spermatogenesis
declining in summer. Sows usually begin ovulating
in their second year, though some exceptionally begin at 9 months. They can mate at any time of the year, though the main peak occurs in February–May, when mature sows are in postpartal estrus and young animals experience their first estrus. Matings occurring outside this period typically occurs in sows which either failed to mate early or matured slowly. Badgers are usually monogamous ; boars typically mate with one female for life, whereas sows have been known to mate with more than one male. Mating lasts 15–60 minutes, though they may briefly copulate for 2 minutes when the sow is not in estrus. There is a 2-9 month period of delayed implantation before the fertilised eggs implant into the uterus
' walls, though matings in December can result in immediate implantation. Ordinarily, implantation happens in December, with a gestation period
lasting seven weeks. Cubs are usually born in mid-January or mid-March within underground chambers containing bedding. In areas where the countryside is waterlogged
, cubs may be born above ground in buildings. Typically, only dominant sows can breed, as they suppress the reproduction of subordinate females.
The average litter consists of 1-5 cubs. Although many cubs are sired by resident males, up to 54% can be fathered by boars from different groups. Dominant sows may kill the cubs of subordinates. Cubs are born pink, with greyish, silvery fur and fused eyelids. Neonatal badgers are 12 cm in body length on average and weigh 75-132 grams, with cubs from large litters being smaller. By 3–5 days, their claws become pigmented, and individual dark hairs begin to appear. Their eyes open at five days of age, and their milk teeth erupt after 4–6 weeks. They emerge from their setts at 8 weeks of age, and begin to be weaned
at 12 weeks, though they may still suckle until they are 4–5 months old. Subordinate females assist the mother in guarding, feeding and grooming the cubs. Cubs fully develop their adult coat at 41–68 days. In areas with medium-high badger populations, dispersal from the natal group is uncommon, though badgers may temporarily visit other groups.
Like other badger species, European badgers are burrowing animals. However, the dens constructed by European badgers (called setts) are the most complex, and are passed on from generation to generation. The number of exits in one sett can fluctuate from 1-2 to 44-50. The underground constructions of badgers can be vast, and can sometimes accommodate multiple families. In the latter case, several isolated passages and nesting chambers occur. Some setts may have exits which are only used in times of danger or play. A typical sett has a 22–63 cm wide base and a 14–32 cm height. Three nesting chambers occur in setts, some of which are open both ends. The nesting chamber is located 5–10 metres from the opening, and is situated more than a metre underground, in some cases 2.3 metres. Generally, the passages are 35–81 metres long. The nesting chamber is on average 74 x 76 cm, and are 38 cm high. Badgers dig and collect bedding throughout the year, particularly in autumn and spring. Sett maintenance is usually carried out by subordinate sows and dominant boars. The sett chambers are frequently lined with bedding, which is brought in on dry nights, consisting of grass
, bracken
, straw
, leaves
or moss
. Up to 20-30 bundles can be carried to the sett on a single night. They are fastidiously clean animals, which regularly discard old bedding. During the winter, they may take their bedding outside on sunny mornings and retrieve it later. Spring cleaning
is connected to the birth of cubs, and may occur several times during the summer to prevent parasite infestations. If a badger dies within a sett chamber, its conspecifics will seal off the chamber and dig a new one. Some badgers will drag their dead out of the sett and bury them outside. A sett is almost invariably located near a tree, which is used by badgers for stretching or claw scraping. Badgers defecate in latrine
s, which are located near the sett and at strategic locations on territorial boundraries or near places with abundant food. In extreme cases, when there is a lack of suitable burrowing grounds, badgers will move into haystacks in winter. They may share their earths with red fox
es or European rabbit
s. Rabbits may benefit from the presence of badgers as protection against other predators, and usually avoid predation from the badgers themselves by burrowing in smaller, hard to reach chambers.
s, winter sleep in badgers is not accompanied by the lowering of body temperature or bodily functions. Badgers begin to prepare for winter sleep during late summer by accumulating fat reserves, which reach a peak in October. During this period, the sett is cleaned and the nesting chamber filled with bedding. They typically stop leaving their setts once snow falls. In Russia, badgers retire for their winter sleep from late October to mid-November. In areas such as England and Transcaucasia, where winters are less harsh, badgers either forgo winter sleep entirely or do so with repeated interruptions. Upon retiring to sleep, badgers block their sett entrances with dry leaves and earth. They emerge from their setts in March and early April.
s, European badgers are among the least carnivorous members of the Carnivora
; they are highly adaptable and opportunistic omnivore
s, whose diet encompasses a wide range of animals and plants. Earthworm
s are their most important food source, followed by large insects, small or young mammals, carrion
, cereals, fruit and underground storage organs. Mammals preyed on by badgers include rabbit
s, rat
s, mice
, vole
s, shrew
s, mole
s and hedgehog
s. Insect prey includes chafers, dung
and ground beetle
s, caterpillar
s, leatherjackets
, and the nests of wasp
s and bumblebee
s. Cereal food includes wheat, oat
s, maize and occasionally barley
. Fruits include windfall apples, pears, plum
s, blackberries, bilberries, raspberries
, strawberries, acorn
s, beechmast, pignuts and wild arum
corm
s. Occasionally, they feed on ground nesting and roosting birds, frog
s, toad
s, newt
s, snake
s, lizard
s, snail
s, slug
s, fungi, and green food such as clover
and grass
, particularly in winter and during drought
s. Badgers characteristically capture large numbers of one food type in each hunt. Generally, they do not eat more than 0.5 kg of food per day, with young specimens yet to attain one year of age eating more than adults. An adult badger weighing 15 kg eats a quantity of food equal to 3.4% of its body weight. Badgers typically eat prey on the spot, and rarely transport it to their setts. Surplus killing
has been observed in chicken coops.
Badgers prey on rabbits throughout the year, especially during times when their young are available. They catch young rabbits by locating their position in their nest by scent, then dig vertically downwards to the nest. In mountainous or hilly districts, where vegetable food is scarce, badgers rely on rabbits as a principal food source. Adult rabbits are usually avoided, unless they are wounded or caught in traps. They consume rabbits by turning them inside out and eat the meat, leaving the inverted skin uneaten. Hedgehogs are eaten in a similar manner. In areas where badgers are common, hedgehogs are scarce. Some rogue badgers may kill lambs, though this is very rare. Badgers may be erroneously implicated in lamb killings through the presence of discarded wool and bones near their setts, though foxes, which occasionally live alongside badgers, are often the culprits, as badgers do not transport food to their earths. They typically kill lambs by biting them behind the shoulder. Poultry
and game birds are also taken only rarely. Some badgers may build their setts in close proximity to poultry or game farms without ever causing damage. In the rare instances in which badgers do kill reared birds, the killings usually occur in February–March, when food is scarce due to harsh weather and increases in badger populations. Badgers can easily breach bee hive
s with their jaws, and are mostly indifferent to bee sting
s, even when set upon by swarms.
and dogs can pose a threat to badgers, though deaths caused by them are rare. They may live alongside red foxes
in isolated sections of large burrows. It is possible that the two species tolerate each other out of commensalism
; foxes provide badgers with food scraps, while badgers maintain the shared burrow's cleanliness. However, cases are known of badgers driving vixens from their dens and destroying their litters without eating them. Raccoon dog
s may extensively use badger setts for shelter. There are many known cases of badgers and raccoon dogs wintering in the same hole, possibly because badgers enter hibernation 2 weeks earlier than the latter, and leave 2 weeks later. In exceptional cases, badger and raccoon dog cubs may coexist in the same burrow. Badgers may drive out or kill raccoon dogs if they overstay their welcome.
s is the Volga River
, the European species being situated on the western bank. They are common in European Russia
, with 30,000 individuals having been recorded there in 1990. They are abundant and increasing throughout their range due to a reduction in rabies. In the UK, badgers experienced a 77% increase in population during the 1980s-1990s. The current badger population in Great Britain is estimated at 250,000 (190,000 in England, 25,000 in Scotland and 35,000 in Wales).
is a major mortality factor in badgers, though infected badgers can live and successfully breed for years before succumbing. Badgers are vulnerable to the mustelid herpesvirus-1, as well as rabies
and canine distemper
, though the latter two are absent in Great Britain. Badgers have been implicated in spreading bovine tuberculosis to cattle. Other diseases carried by European badgers include arteriosclerosis
, pneumonia
, pleurisy
, nephritis
, enteritis
, polyarthritis
and lymphosarcoma. Ectoparasites carried by badgers include the flea
s Paraceras melis, Chaetopsylla trichosa and Pulex irritans, the lice Trichodectes melis, the tick
s Ixodes ricinus
, I. canisuga, I. hexagonus
, I. reduvius, I. melicula. Mange
is also carried by them. Helminths carried by badgers include trematodes such as Itygonimus lorum, nematode
s such as Molineus patens, Uncinaria stenocephala
, Capilara erinacei, Aelurostrongylus falciformis and tapeworms such as Mesocestoides lineatus and Dilepis undula.
In Irish mythology
, badgers are portrayed as shape-shifter
s and kinsmen to Tadg, the king of Tara
and foster father of Cormac mac Airt
. In one story, Tadg berates his adopted son for having killed and prepared some badgers for dinner. In German folklore
, the badger is portrayed as a cautious, peace-loving Philistine
, who loves more than anything his home, family and comfort, though he can become aggressive if surprised. He is a cousin of Reynard the Fox, whom he uselessly tries to convince to return to the path of righteousness.
In Kenneth Graham's The Wind in the Willows
, Mr. Badger is depicted as a gruff, solitary figure who "simply hates society", yet is a good friend to Mole and Ratty. A friend of Toad's now-deceased father, he is often firm and serious with Toad, but at the same time generally patient and well-meaning towards him. He can be seen as a wise hermit, a good leader and gentleman, embodying common sense. He is also brave and a skilled fighter, and helps clear the Wild Wooders from Toad Hall.
A villainous badger named Tommy Brock appears in Beatrix Potter
's 1912 book The Tale of Mr. Tod
, where he is shown kidnapping the children of Benjamin Bunny and his wife Flopsy, and hides them in an oven in the home of Mr. Tod the fox, with whom he fights in the book's conclusion. The book's portrayal of the badger as a filthy animal which appropriates fox dens was criticised from a naturalistic viewpoint, though the inconsistencies are few and employed to create individual characters rather than evoke an archetypical fox and badger. A wise old badger named Trufflehunter appears in C. S. Lewis
' Prince Caspian
, where he aids Caspian X
in his struggle against King Miraz. A badger takes a prominent role in Colin Dann
's The Animals of Farthing Wood
series as second in command to Fox. The badger is also the house symbol for Hufflepuff in the "Harry Potter
" book series. The Redwall
series also has the Badger Lords, who rule the extinct volcano fortress of Salamandastron and are renowned as fierce warriors.
s and dachshund
s to dig them out. Badgers are however notoriously durable animals ; their skin is thick, loose and covered in long hair which acts as protection, and their heavily ossified skulls allow them to shrug off most blunt trauma
s, as well as shotgun
pellets.
Some badger products have medicinal properties ; badger expert Ernest Neal, quoting from an 1810 edition of The Sporting Magazine
, wrote ;
Their hairs are used for making shaving brushes and sporran
s and the skin is sometimes used to make shagreen
. Badger meat is eaten in some districts of the former Soviet Union, though in most cases it is discarded. Smoked hams made from badgers were once highly esteemed in England, Wales and Ireland.
, in which badgers were captured alive, placed in boxes and forced to fight dogs.
Badger baiting was outlawed in the United Kingdom as early as 1835, with the Cruelty to Animals Act
. The practice of baiting of animals is now specifically forbidden under the Protection of Animals Act 1911
. Moreover, the cruelty towards and death of the badger constitute offences under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992, and further offences under this act are inevitably committed to facilitate badger baiting (such as interfering with a sett, or the taking or the very possession of a badger for purposes other than nursing an injured animal to health). If convicted, badger baiters may face a sentence of up to 6 months in jail, a fine of up to £5000, as well as other punitive measures, such as community service
or a ban from owning dogs.
Badgers and TB in the UK
Claims of continued badger-hunting in the UK
Badger
Badgers are short-legged omnivores in the weasel family, Mustelidae. There are nine species of badger, in three subfamilies : Melinae , Mellivorinae , and Taxideinae...
of the genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
Meles
Meles (genus)
Meles is a genus of badgers, containing three living species, the Japanese Badger , Asian Badger , and European Badger ....
, native to almost all of Europe. It is classed as Least Concern
Least Concern
Least Concern is an IUCN category assigned to extant taxon or lower taxa which have been evaluated but do not qualify for any other category. As such they do not qualify as threatened, Near Threatened, or Conservation Dependent...
for extinction
Extinction
In biology and ecology, extinction is the end of an organism or of a group of organisms , normally a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and recover may have been lost before this point...
by the IUCN, due to its wide distribution and large population.
The European badger is a social burrowing animal which lives on a wide variety of plant and animal food. It is very fussy over the cleanliness of its burrow, and defecates in latrines. Cases are known of European badgers burying their dead family members. Although ferocious when provoked, a trait which was once exploited for the blood sport
Blood sport
Bloodsport or blood sport is any sport or entertainment that involves violence against animals.Bloodsport includes coursing or beagling, combat sports such as cockfighting and dog fighting, or other activities...
of badger-baiting
Badger-baiting
Badger-baiting or badger baiting is a blood sport in which badgers are baited. A baiting session typically results in the death of the badger, and possibly serious injuries to the dogs.-Background:...
, the European badger is generally a peaceful animal, having been known to share its burrows with other species such as rabbit
Rabbit
Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world...
s, red foxes
Red Fox
The red fox is the largest of the true foxes, as well as being the most geographically spread member of the Carnivora, being distributed across the entire northern hemisphere from the Arctic Circle to North Africa, Central America, and the steppes of Asia...
and raccoon dogs
Raccoon Dog
The raccoon dog , also known as the magnut or tanuki, is a canid indigenous to east Asia. It is the only extant species in the genus Nyctereutes...
. Although it does not usually prey on domestic stock, the species is nonetheless alleged to damage livestock through spreading bovine tuberculosis.
Nomenclature
Up until the mid-18th century, European badgers were variously known in Britain as brock, pate, grey and bawson. "Brock" still persists in some areas, the root word likely being the DanishDanish language
Danish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...
word "brok", which also means badger. For example, in Irish Gaelic, the word for badger is broc. The name "bawson" is derived from "bawsened", which refers to something striped with white. "Pate" is a local name which was once popular in northern England. The name "badget" was once common, but restricted to Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
, while "earth dog" was used in Southern Ireland
Southern Ireland
Southern Ireland was a short-lived autonomous region of the United Kingdom established on 3 May 1921 and dissolved on 6 December 1922.Southern Ireland was established under the Government of Ireland Act 1920 together with its sister region, Northern Ireland...
.
Origin
The species likely evolved from the Chinese Meles thorali of the early PleistocenePleistocene
The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
. The modern species originated during the early Middle Pleistocene, with fossil sites occurring in Episcopia
Episcopia
Episcopia is a town and comune in the province of Potenza, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata....
, Grombasek, Süssenborn, Hundsheim
Hundsheim
Hundsheim is a town in the district of Bruck an der Leitha in Lower Austria, in northeast Austria.- References :...
, Erpfingen, Koneprusy
Koněprusy
Koněprusy is a municipality and village in Beroun District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. The municipality covers an area of 6.03 km² and as of 2006 it had a population of 222....
, Mosbach
Mosbach
Mosbach is the capital of the Neckar-Odenwald district in the north of Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about 58 km east of Heidelberg. Its geographical position is 49.21'N 9.9'E....
2, Stránská Skála. A comparison between fossil and living specimens shows a marked progressive adaptation to omnivory, namely in the increase in the molar's surface area and the modification of the carnassials. Occasionally, badger bones may be discovered in strata from much earlier dates, due to the species' burrowing habits.
Subspecies
, eight subspecies are recognised.| Subspecies | Trinomial authority | Description | Range | Synonyms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Common badgerMeles meles meles |
Linnaeus, 1758 | A large subspecies with a strongly developed sagittal crest, a soft pelage and relatively dense underfur. The back has a relatively pure silvery-grey tone, while the main tone of the head is pure white. The dark stripes are wide and black, while the white fields fully extend along the upper and lateral parts of the neck. It can weigh up to 20–24 kg in autumn, with some specimens attaining even larger sizes | All Europe, save for Rhodes Rhodes Rhodes is an island in Greece, located in the eastern Aegean Sea. It is the largest of the Dodecanese islands in terms of both land area and population, with a population of 117,007, and also the island group's historical capital. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within... , Crete Crete Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits... and Spain. Its eastern range encompasses the European area of the former Soviet Union eastward to the Volga, Crimea Crimea Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name... , Ciscaucasia Ciscaucasia Ciscaucasia , also Ciscaucasus or Fore-Caucasus, is a part of the Caucasus region, and of the North Caucasus in particular.The region is at the northern foothills of the Greater Caucasus range, from the Sea of Azov in the west to the Caspian Sea in the east, separated from the East European Plain... , and the northern Caucasus Caucasus The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea... |
alba (Gmelin, 1788) britannicus (Satunin, 1905) caninus (Billberg, 1827) caucasicus (Ognev, 1926) communis (Billberg, 1827) danicus (Degerbøl, 1933) europaeus (Desmarest, 1816) maculata (Gmelin, 1788) tauricus (Ognev, 1926) taxus (Boddaert, 1785) typicus (Barrett-Hamilton, 1899) vulgaris (Tiedemann, 1808) |
| Cretan badgerMeles meles arcalus |
Miller, 1907 | Crete Crete Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits... |
||
| Trans-Caucasian badgerMeles meles canascens |
Blanford, 1875 | A small subspecies with a dirty-greyish back with brown highlights. The head is identical to Meles m. meles, though with weaker crests, and its upper molars are elongated in a similar way to the Asian badger Asian Badger The Asian badger , also known as the sand badger is a species of badger native to China, Kazakhstan, the Korean Peninsula and Russia.-Description:... |
Transcaucasia, Kopet Dag Kopet Dag The Kopet Dag, Kopet Dagh, or Koppeh Dagh , also known as the Turkmen-Khorasan Mountain Range is a mountain range on the frontier between Turkmenistan and Iran, extending about 650 km along the border, east of the Caspian Sea. The highest peak of the range in Turkmenistan is southwest of the... , Turkmenia, Iran Iran Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia... , Afghanistan Afghanistan Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world... and possibly Asia Minor Asia Minor Asia Minor is a geographical location at the westernmost protrusion of Asia, also called Anatolia, and corresponds to the western two thirds of the Asian part of Turkey... |
minor (Satunin, 1905) ponticus (Blackler, 1916) |
| Kizlyar badgerMeles meles heptneri | Ognev, 1931 | A large subspecies exhibiting several traits of the Asian badger, namely its very pale, dull, dirty-greyish-ocherous colour and narrow head stripes | Steppe region of northeastern Ciscaucasia, the Kalmytsk steppes and the Volga delta | |
| Iberian badgerMeles meles marianensis | Graells, 1897 | Iberian Peninsula Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar... |
mediterraneous (Barrett-Hamilton, 1899) | |
| Norwegian badgerMeles meles milleri |
Baryshnikov, Puzachenko and Abramov, 2003 | A small subspecies | South-west Norway Norway Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million... |
|
| Rhodes badgerMeles meles rhodius | Festa, 1914 | Rhodes Rhodes Rhodes is an island in Greece, located in the eastern Aegean Sea. It is the largest of the Dodecanese islands in terms of both land area and population, with a population of 117,007, and also the island group's historical capital. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within... |
||
| Fergana badgerMeles meles severzovi | Heptner, 1940 | A small subspecies with a relatively pure, silvery-grey back with no yellow sheen. The head stripes are wide and occupy the whole ear. Its skull exhibits several features which are transitory between the Asian and European badger | Right tributary region of the Panj River Panj River The Panj River , also known as Pyandzh River or Piandj River , is a tributary of the Amu Darya. The river is 1,125 km long and forms a considerable part of the Afghanistan - Tajikistan border.... , the upper Amu Darya Amu Darya The Amu Darya , also called Oxus and Amu River, is a major river in Central Asia. It is formed by the junction of the Vakhsh and Panj rivers... , Pamiro-Alay system, the Fergana Valley Fergana Valley The Fergana Valley or Farghana Valley is a region in Central Asia spreading across eastern Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Divided across three subdivisions of the former Soviet Union, the valley is ethnically diverse, and in the early 21st century was the scene of ethnic conflict... and its adjoining southern and mountains |
bokharensis (Petrov,1953) |
Build
European badgers are powerfully built animals with small heads, thick, short necks, stocky wedge-shaped bodies and short tails. Their feet are digitigradeDigitigrade
A digitigrade is an animal that stands or walks on its digits, or toes. Digitigrades include walking birds , cats, dogs, and many other mammals, but not plantigrades or unguligrades...
and short, with five toes on each foot. The limbs are short and massive, with naked lower surfaces on the feet. The claws are strong, elongated and have an obtuse end, which assists in digging. The claws are non-retractable, and the hind claws wear with age. Old badgers are sometimes found with their hind claws nearly completely worn away from constant digging. Their snouts, which are used for digging and probing, are muscular and flexible. The eyes are small and the ears short and tipped with white. Whisker
Whisker
Whisker may refer to:* an element of box plots* cat's whisker diode, a thin wire used as a contact on a crystal radio receiver* facial hair, hair on the face of a human* vibrissa, a hair on the face of a mammal, used for sensing the surroundings...
s are present on the snout and above the eyes. Boars typically have broader heads, thicker necks and relatively pointed and narrow tails than sows, which are sleeker, have narrower, less domed heads and fluffier tails. Their guts are longer than those of red foxes
Red Fox
The red fox is the largest of the true foxes, as well as being the most geographically spread member of the Carnivora, being distributed across the entire northern hemisphere from the Arctic Circle to North Africa, Central America, and the steppes of Asia...
. The small intestine
Small intestine
The small intestine is the part of the gastrointestinal tract following the stomach and followed by the large intestine, and is where much of the digestion and absorption of food takes place. In invertebrates such as worms, the terms "gastrointestinal tract" and "large intestine" are often used to...
has a mean length of 5.36 metres, and lacks a cecum
Cecum
The cecum or caecum is a pouch, connecting the ileum with the ascending colon of the large intestine. It is separated from the ileum by the ileocecal valve or Bauhin's valve, and is considered to be the beginning of the large intestine. It is also separated from the colon by the cecocolic...
. Both sexes have three pairs of nipple
Nipple
In its most general form, a nipple is a structure from which a fluid emanates. More specifically, it is the projection on the breasts or udder of a mammal by which breast milk is delivered to a mother's young. In this sense, it is often called a teat, especially when referring to non-humans, and...
s, which are more developed in females. European badgers cannot flex their backs as marten
Marten
The martens constitute the genus Martes within the subfamily Mustelinae, in family Mustelidae.-Description:Martens are slender, agile animals, adapted to living in taigas, and are found in coniferous and northern deciduous forests across the northern hemisphere. They have bushy tails, and large...
s, polecats and wolverine
Wolverine
The wolverine, pronounced , Gulo gulo , also referred to as glutton, carcajou, skunk bear, or quickhatch, is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae . It is a stocky and muscular carnivore, more closely resembling a small bear than other mustelids...
s can, nor can they stand fully erect like honey badgers, though they can move quickly at full gallop. Adults measure 25-30 cm (10-12 in) in shoulder height, 60–90 cm (24-36 in) in body length, 12–24 cm (4.7-9.5 in) in tail length, 7.5–13 cm (3-5 in) in hind foot length and 3.5–7 cm (1.4-2.8 in) in ear height. Males (or boars) slightly exceed females (or sows) in measurements but can weigh considerably more. Their weight varies seasonally, growing from spring to autumn and reaches a peak during the onset of hibernation
Hibernation
Hibernation is a state of inactivity and metabolic depression in animals, characterized by lower body temperature, slower breathing, and lower metabolic rate. Hibernating animals conserve food, especially during winter when food supplies are limited, tapping energy reserves, body fat, at a slow rate...
. During the summer, they weigh 7–13 kg (15-27 lb) and 15–17 kg (33-38 lb) in autumn. Sows can attain a top weight of around 17.2 kg (38 lb) while exceptionally large boars have been reported in autumn. The heaviest verified was 27.2 kg (60 lb), though unverified specimens have been reported to 30.8 kg (68 lb). Although their sense of smell is acute, their eyesight is monochromatic, as they have been known not to react to red lanterns. Only moving objects attract their attention. Their hearing is no higher than that of humans.
European badger skulls are quite massive, heavy and elongated. Their braincases are oval in outline, while the facial part of their skulls is elongated and narrow. Adults have prominent sagittal crest
Sagittal crest
A sagittal crest is a ridge of bone running lengthwise along the midline of the top of the skull of many mammalian and reptilian skulls, among others....
s which can reach 15 mm tall in old males, and are more strongly developed than those of honey badgers. Aside from anchoring the jaw muscles, the thickness of the crest protects the skull from hard blows. Similarly to martens, the dentition of European badgers is well suited for their omnivorous diet. Their incisor
Incisor
Incisors are the first kind of tooth in heterodont mammals. They are located in the premaxilla above and mandible below.-Function:...
s are small and chisel
Chisel
A chisel is a tool with a characteristically shaped cutting edge of blade on its end, for carving or cutting a hard material such as wood, stone, or metal. The handle and blade of some types of chisel are made of metal or wood with a sharp edge in it.In use, the chisel is forced into the material...
-shaped, their canine teeth are prominent and their carnassial
Carnassial
Carnassials are large teeth found in many carnivorous mammals, used for shearing flesh and bone in a scissor- or shear-like way. In the Carnivora, the carnassials are the modified last upper premolar and the first molar, but in the prehistoric creodonts, the carnassials were further back in the...
s are not overly specialised. Their molar
Molar (tooth)
Molars are the rearmost and most complicated kind of tooth in most mammals. In many mammals they grind food; hence the Latin name mola, "millstone"....
s are flattened and adapted for grinding. Their jaws are powerful enough to crush most bones ; there is one record of a provoked badger biting down on a man's wrist so severely that it had to be amputated. The dental formula is:
Scent gland
Scent gland
Scent glands are found in the genital area of most mammals and in various other parts of the body, such as the underarms of humans and the preorbital glands of deer and muskox. They produce a semi-viscous fluid which contains pheromones. These odor-messengers indicate information such as status,...
s are present below the base of the tail and on the anus
Anus
The anus is an opening at the opposite end of an animal's digestive tract from the mouth. Its function is to control the expulsion of feces, unwanted semi-solid matter produced during digestion, which, depending on the type of animal, may be one or more of: matter which the animal cannot digest,...
. The subcaudal gland secretes a musky smelling cream coloured fatty substance, while the anal glands secrete a stronger smelling yellowish-brown fluid.
Fur
In winter, the fur on the back and flanks is long and coarse, consisting of coarse and bristly guard hairs with a sparse, soft undercoat. The belly fur consists of short, sparse hairs, with skin being visible in the inguinal region. Guard hair length on the middle of the back is 75–80 mm in winter. Prior to hibernation, the throat, lower neck, chest and legs are black. The belly is of a lighter, brownish tint, while the inguinal region is brownish grey. The general colour of the back and sides is light silvery-grey, with straw coloured highlights on the sides. The tail has long and coarse hairs, and is generally the same colour as the back. Two black bands pass along the head, starting from the upper lip and passing upwards to the whole base of the ears. The bands sometimes extend along the neck and merge with the colour of the upper body. The front parts of the bands are 15 mm, and widen to 45–55 mm in the ear region. A wide white band extends from the nose tip through the forehead and crown. White markings occur on the lower part of the head, and extend backwards to a great part of the neck's length. The summer fur is much coarser, shorter and sparser, and is much darker in colour, with the black tones becoming brownish and the yellowish tinges. Partial melanismMelanism
Melanism is an undue development of dark-colored pigment in the skin or its appendages, and the opposite of albinism. It is also the medical term for black jaundice.The word is deduced from the , meaning black pigment....
in badgers is known, and albinos are not uncommon. Albino badgers can be pure white or yellowish with pink eyes. Erythristic
Erythrism
Erythrism or erythrochroism refers to an unusual reddish pigmentation of an animal's fur, hair, skin, feathers, or eggshells.Causes of erythrism include*genetic mutations which cause an absence of a normal pigment and/or excessive production of others...
badgers are more common than the former, being characterised by having a sandy-red colour on the usually black parts of the body. Yellow badgers are also known.
Social and territorial behaviours
European badgers are the most social of badgers, forming groups of six adults on average, though groups of 23 are known. Group size may be related to habitat composition. In optimal habitat, badger territories can be as small as 30 haHectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
, and large as 150 ha in marginal areas. Badger territories can be identified by the presence of communal latrine
Latrine
A latrine is a communal facility containing one or more commonly many toilets which may be simple pit toilets or in the case of the United States Armed Forces any toilet including modern flush toilets...
s and well worn paths. There is little evidence of a dominance hierarchy, with animals within and outside a group showing considerable tolerance of each other. Boars tend to mark their territories more actively than sows, with their territorial activity increasing during the mating season in early spring. Badgers groom
Personal grooming
Personal grooming is the art of cleaning, grooming, and maintaining parts of the body. It is a species-typical behavior that is controlled by neural circuits in the brain.- In humans :...
each other very thoroughly with their claws and teeth. Grooming may have a social function. They are crepuscular
Crepuscular
Crepuscular animals are those that are active primarily during twilight, that is during dawn and dusk. The word is derived from the Latin word crepusculum, meaning "twilight." Crepuscular is, thus, in contrast with diurnal and nocturnal behavior. Crepuscular animals may also be active on a bright...
and nocturnal in habits. Aggression among badgers is largely associated with territorial defence and mating. When fighting, badgers bite each other on the neck and rump, while running and chasing. Injuries incurred in such fights can be severe and sometimes fatal. When attacked by dogs or sexually excited, badgers may raise their tails and fluff up their bodies. European badgers have a high vocal repertoire; when threatened, they emit deep growls. They bark when surprised, and whicker when playing or are distressed. When fighting, they emit low kekkering noises.
Reproduction and development
Estrus in European badgers lasts 4–6 days, and may occur throughout the year, though there is a peak in spring. Sexual maturitySexual maturity
Sexual maturity is the age or stage when an organism can reproduce. It is sometimes considered synonymous with adulthood, though the two are distinct...
in boars occurs in varying periods ; on average, it is attained at the age of 12–15 months, while in others it is attained as early as 8–9 months or as late as two years. They are normally fecund during January–May, with spermatogenesis
Spermatogenesis
Spermatogenesis is the process by which male primary germ cells undergo division, and produce a number of cells termed spermatogonia, from which the primary spermatocytes are derived. Each primary spermatocyte divides into two secondary spermatocytes, and each secondary spermatocyte into two...
declining in summer. Sows usually begin ovulating
Ovulation
Ovulation is the process in a female's menstrual cycle by which a mature ovarian follicle ruptures and discharges an ovum . Ovulation also occurs in the estrous cycle of other female mammals, which differs in many fundamental ways from the menstrual cycle...
in their second year, though some exceptionally begin at 9 months. They can mate at any time of the year, though the main peak occurs in February–May, when mature sows are in postpartal estrus and young animals experience their first estrus. Matings occurring outside this period typically occurs in sows which either failed to mate early or matured slowly. Badgers are usually monogamous ; boars typically mate with one female for life, whereas sows have been known to mate with more than one male. Mating lasts 15–60 minutes, though they may briefly copulate for 2 minutes when the sow is not in estrus. There is a 2-9 month period of delayed implantation before the fertilised eggs implant into the uterus
Uterus
The uterus or womb is a major female hormone-responsive reproductive sex organ of most mammals including humans. One end, the cervix, opens into the vagina, while the other is connected to one or both fallopian tubes, depending on the species...
' walls, though matings in December can result in immediate implantation. Ordinarily, implantation happens in December, with a gestation period
Gestation period
For mammals the gestation period is the time in which a fetus develops, beginning with fertilization and ending at birth. The duration of this period varies between species.-Duration:...
lasting seven weeks. Cubs are usually born in mid-January or mid-March within underground chambers containing bedding. In areas where the countryside is waterlogged
Waterlogging (agriculture)
Waterlogging refers to the saturation of soil with water. Soil may be regarded as waterlogged when the water table of the groundwater is too high to conveniently permit an anticipated activity, like agriculture....
, cubs may be born above ground in buildings. Typically, only dominant sows can breed, as they suppress the reproduction of subordinate females.
The average litter consists of 1-5 cubs. Although many cubs are sired by resident males, up to 54% can be fathered by boars from different groups. Dominant sows may kill the cubs of subordinates. Cubs are born pink, with greyish, silvery fur and fused eyelids. Neonatal badgers are 12 cm in body length on average and weigh 75-132 grams, with cubs from large litters being smaller. By 3–5 days, their claws become pigmented, and individual dark hairs begin to appear. Their eyes open at five days of age, and their milk teeth erupt after 4–6 weeks. They emerge from their setts at 8 weeks of age, and begin to be weaned
Weaning
Weaning is the process of gradually introducing a mammal infant, either human or animal, to what will be its adult diet and withdrawing the supply of its mother's milk.The process takes place only in mammals, as only mammals produce milk...
at 12 weeks, though they may still suckle until they are 4–5 months old. Subordinate females assist the mother in guarding, feeding and grooming the cubs. Cubs fully develop their adult coat at 41–68 days. In areas with medium-high badger populations, dispersal from the natal group is uncommon, though badgers may temporarily visit other groups.
Denning behaviours
Grass
Grasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...
, bracken
Bracken
Bracken are several species of large, coarse ferns of the genus Pteridium. Ferns are vascular plants that have alternating generations, large plants that produce spores and small plants that produce sex cells . Brackens are in the family Dennstaedtiaceae, which are noted for their large, highly...
, straw
Straw
Straw is an agricultural by-product, the dry stalks of cereal plants, after the grain and chaff have been removed. Straw makes up about half of the yield of cereal crops such as barley, oats, rice, rye and wheat. It has many uses, including fuel, livestock bedding and fodder, thatching and...
, leaves
Leaves
-History:Vocalist Arnar Gudjonsson was formerly the guitarist with Mower, and he was joined by Hallur Hallsson , Arnar Ólafsson , Bjarni Grímsson , and Andri Ásgrímsson . Late in 2001 they played with Emiliana Torrini and drew early praise from the New York Times...
or moss
Moss
Mosses are small, soft plants that are typically 1–10 cm tall, though some species are much larger. They commonly grow close together in clumps or mats in damp or shady locations. They do not have flowers or seeds, and their simple leaves cover the thin wiry stems...
. Up to 20-30 bundles can be carried to the sett on a single night. They are fastidiously clean animals, which regularly discard old bedding. During the winter, they may take their bedding outside on sunny mornings and retrieve it later. Spring cleaning
Spring cleaning
Spring cleaning is the period in spring time set aside for cleaning a house, normally applied in climates with a cold winter.The most common usage of spring cleaning refers to the yearly act of cleaning a house from top to bottom which would take place in the first warm days of the year typically...
is connected to the birth of cubs, and may occur several times during the summer to prevent parasite infestations. If a badger dies within a sett chamber, its conspecifics will seal off the chamber and dig a new one. Some badgers will drag their dead out of the sett and bury them outside. A sett is almost invariably located near a tree, which is used by badgers for stretching or claw scraping. Badgers defecate in latrine
Latrine
A latrine is a communal facility containing one or more commonly many toilets which may be simple pit toilets or in the case of the United States Armed Forces any toilet including modern flush toilets...
s, which are located near the sett and at strategic locations on territorial boundraries or near places with abundant food. In extreme cases, when there is a lack of suitable burrowing grounds, badgers will move into haystacks in winter. They may share their earths with red fox
Red Fox
The red fox is the largest of the true foxes, as well as being the most geographically spread member of the Carnivora, being distributed across the entire northern hemisphere from the Arctic Circle to North Africa, Central America, and the steppes of Asia...
es or European rabbit
European Rabbit
The European Rabbit or Common Rabbit is a species of rabbit native to south west Europe and north west Africa . It has been widely introduced elsewhere often with devastating effects on local biodiversity...
s. Rabbits may benefit from the presence of badgers as protection against other predators, and usually avoid predation from the badgers themselves by burrowing in smaller, hard to reach chambers.
Winter sleep
As with bearBear
Bears are mammals of the family Ursidae. Bears are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans, with the pinnipeds being their closest living relatives. Although there are only eight living species of bear, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Northern...
s, winter sleep in badgers is not accompanied by the lowering of body temperature or bodily functions. Badgers begin to prepare for winter sleep during late summer by accumulating fat reserves, which reach a peak in October. During this period, the sett is cleaned and the nesting chamber filled with bedding. They typically stop leaving their setts once snow falls. In Russia, badgers retire for their winter sleep from late October to mid-November. In areas such as England and Transcaucasia, where winters are less harsh, badgers either forgo winter sleep entirely or do so with repeated interruptions. Upon retiring to sleep, badgers block their sett entrances with dry leaves and earth. They emerge from their setts in March and early April.
Diet
Along with brown bearBrown Bear
The brown bear is a large bear distributed across much of northern Eurasia and North America. It can weigh from and its largest subspecies, the Kodiak Bear, rivals the polar bear as the largest member of the bear family and as the largest land-based predator.There are several recognized...
s, European badgers are among the least carnivorous members of the Carnivora
Carnivora
The diverse order Carnivora |Latin]] carō "flesh", + vorāre "to devour") includes over 260 species of placental mammals. Its members are formally referred to as carnivorans, while the word "carnivore" can refer to any meat-eating animal...
; they are highly adaptable and opportunistic omnivore
Omnivore
Omnivores are species that eat both plants and animals as their primary food source...
s, whose diet encompasses a wide range of animals and plants. Earthworm
Earthworm
Earthworm is the common name for the largest members of Oligochaeta in the phylum Annelida. In classical systems they were placed in the order Opisthopora, on the basis of the male pores opening posterior to the female pores, even though the internal male segments are anterior to the female...
s are their most important food source, followed by large insects, small or young mammals, carrion
Carrion
Carrion refers to the carcass of a dead animal. Carrion is an important food source for large carnivores and omnivores in most ecosystems. Examples of carrion-eaters include vultures, hawks, eagles, hyenas, Virginia Opossum, Tasmanian Devils, coyotes, Komodo dragons, and burying beetles...
, cereals, fruit and underground storage organs. Mammals preyed on by badgers include rabbit
Rabbit
Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world...
s, rat
Rat
Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents of the superfamily Muroidea. "True rats" are members of the genus Rattus, the most important of which to humans are the black rat, Rattus rattus, and the brown rat, Rattus norvegicus...
s, mice
MICE
-Fiction:*Mice , alien species in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*The Mice -Acronyms:* "Meetings, Incentives, Conferencing, Exhibitions", facilities terminology for events...
, vole
Vole
A vole is a small rodent resembling a mouse but with a stouter body, a shorter hairy tail, a slightly rounder head, smaller ears and eyes, and differently formed molars . There are approximately 155 species of voles. They are sometimes known as meadow mice or field mice in North America...
s, shrew
Shrew
A shrew or shrew mouse is a small molelike mammal classified in the order Soricomorpha. True shrews are also not to be confused with West Indies shrews, treeshrews, otter shrews, or elephant shrews, which belong to different families or orders.Although its external appearance is generally that of...
s, mole
Mole (animal)
Moles are small cylindrical mammals adapted to a subterranean lifestyle. They have velvety fur; tiny or invisible ears and eyes; and short, powerful limbs with large paws oriented for digging. The term is especially and most properly used for the true moles, those of the Talpidae family in the...
s and hedgehog
Hedgehog
A hedgehog is any of the spiny mammals of the subfamily Erinaceinae and the order Erinaceomorpha. There are 17 species of hedgehog in five genera, found through parts of Europe, Asia, Africa, and New Zealand . There are no hedgehogs native to Australia, and no living species native to the Americas...
s. Insect prey includes chafers, dung
Dung beetle
Dung beetles are beetles that feed partly or exclusively on feces. All of these species belong to the superfamily Scarabaeoidea; most of them to the subfamilies Scarabaeinae and Aphodiinae of the family Scarabaeidae. This beetle can also be referred to as the scarab beetle. As most species of...
and ground beetle
Ground beetle
Ground beetles are a large, cosmopolitan family of beetles, Carabidae, with more than 40,000 species worldwide, approximately 2,000 of which are found in North America and 2,700 in Europe.-Description and ecology:...
s, caterpillar
Caterpillar
Caterpillars are the larval form of members of the order Lepidoptera . They are mostly herbivorous in food habit, although some species are insectivorous. Caterpillars are voracious feeders and many of them are considered to be pests in agriculture...
s, leatherjackets
Crane fly
A crane fly is an insect in the family Tipulidae. Adults are very slender, long-legged flies that may vary in length from though tropical species may exceed to ....
, and the nests of wasp
Wasp
The term wasp is typically defined as any insect of the order Hymenoptera and suborder Apocrita that is neither a bee nor an ant. Almost every pest insect species has at least one wasp species that preys upon it or parasitizes it, making wasps critically important in natural control of their...
s and bumblebee
Bumblebee
A bumble bee is any member of the bee genus Bombus, in the family Apidae. There are over 250 known species, existing primarily in the Northern Hemisphere although they are common in New Zealand and in the Australian state of Tasmania.Bumble bees are social insects that are characterised by black...
s. Cereal food includes wheat, oat
Oat
The common oat is a species of cereal grain grown for its seed, which is known by the same name . While oats are suitable for human consumption as oatmeal and rolled oats, one of the most common uses is as livestock feed...
s, maize and occasionally barley
Barley
Barley is a major cereal grain, a member of the grass family. It serves as a major animal fodder, as a base malt for beer and certain distilled beverages, and as a component of various health foods...
. Fruits include windfall apples, pears, plum
Plum
A plum or gage is a stone fruit tree in the genus Prunus, subgenus Prunus. The subgenus is distinguished from other subgenera in the shoots having a terminal bud and solitary side buds , the flowers in groups of one to five together on short stems, and the fruit having a groove running down one...
s, blackberries, bilberries, raspberries
Raspberries
Raspberry may refer to:* Raspberry, various fruit-bearing plants in the genus Rubus, especially two commercially grown species, the red-fruited Rubus idaeus and the black-fruited Rubus occidentalis...
, strawberries, acorn
Acorn
The acorn, or oak nut, is the nut of the oaks and their close relatives . It usually contains a single seed , enclosed in a tough, leathery shell, and borne in a cup-shaped cupule. Acorns vary from 1–6 cm long and 0.8–4 cm broad...
s, beechmast, pignuts and wild arum
Arum
Arum is a genus of about 25 species of flowering plants in the family Araceae, native to Europe, northern Africa, and western Asia, with the highest species diversity in the Mediterranean region....
corm
Corm
A corm is a short, vertical, swollen underground plant stem that serves as a storage organ used by some plants to survive winter or other adverse conditions such as summer drought and heat ....
s. Occasionally, they feed on ground nesting and roosting birds, frog
Frog
Frogs are amphibians in the order Anura , formerly referred to as Salientia . Most frogs are characterized by a short body, webbed digits , protruding eyes and the absence of a tail...
s, toad
Toad
A toad is any of a number of species of amphibians in the order Anura characterized by dry, leathery skin , short legs, and snoat-like parotoid glands...
s, newt
Newt
A newt is an aquatic amphibian of the family Salamandridae, although not all aquatic salamanders are considered newts. Newts are classified in the subfamily Pleurodelinae of the family Salamandridae, and are found in North America, Europe and Asia...
s, snake
Snake
Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...
s, lizard
Lizard
Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with nearly 3800 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica as well as most oceanic island chains...
s, snail
Snail
Snail is a common name applied to most of the members of the molluscan class Gastropoda that have coiled shells in the adult stage. When the word is used in its most general sense, it includes sea snails, land snails and freshwater snails. The word snail without any qualifier is however more often...
s, slug
Slug
Slug is a common name that is normally applied to any gastropod mollusc that lacks a shell, has a very reduced shell, or has a small internal shell...
s, fungi, and green food such as clover
Clover
Clover , or trefoil, is a genus of about 300 species of plants in the leguminous pea family Fabaceae. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution; the highest diversity is found in the temperate Northern Hemisphere, but many species also occur in South America and Africa, including at high altitudes...
and grass
Grass
Grasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...
, particularly in winter and during drought
Drought
A drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply. Generally, this occurs when a region receives consistently below average precipitation. It can have a substantial impact on the ecosystem and agriculture of the affected region...
s. Badgers characteristically capture large numbers of one food type in each hunt. Generally, they do not eat more than 0.5 kg of food per day, with young specimens yet to attain one year of age eating more than adults. An adult badger weighing 15 kg eats a quantity of food equal to 3.4% of its body weight. Badgers typically eat prey on the spot, and rarely transport it to their setts. Surplus killing
Surplus killing
Surplus killing is the behavior predators exhibit when they kill more prey than they can immediately use. They may partially consume, cache, or abandon intact prey...
has been observed in chicken coops.
Badgers prey on rabbits throughout the year, especially during times when their young are available. They catch young rabbits by locating their position in their nest by scent, then dig vertically downwards to the nest. In mountainous or hilly districts, where vegetable food is scarce, badgers rely on rabbits as a principal food source. Adult rabbits are usually avoided, unless they are wounded or caught in traps. They consume rabbits by turning them inside out and eat the meat, leaving the inverted skin uneaten. Hedgehogs are eaten in a similar manner. In areas where badgers are common, hedgehogs are scarce. Some rogue badgers may kill lambs, though this is very rare. Badgers may be erroneously implicated in lamb killings through the presence of discarded wool and bones near their setts, though foxes, which occasionally live alongside badgers, are often the culprits, as badgers do not transport food to their earths. They typically kill lambs by biting them behind the shoulder. Poultry
Poultry
Poultry are domesticated birds kept by humans for the purpose of producing eggs, meat, and/or feathers. These most typically are members of the superorder Galloanserae , especially the order Galliformes and the family Anatidae , commonly known as "waterfowl"...
and game birds are also taken only rarely. Some badgers may build their setts in close proximity to poultry or game farms without ever causing damage. In the rare instances in which badgers do kill reared birds, the killings usually occur in February–March, when food is scarce due to harsh weather and increases in badger populations. Badgers can easily breach bee hive
Bee Hive
The term Bee Hive can refer to:*Bee hive, an alternate spelling of the word beehive*Bee Hive, Alabama, an unincorporated community*The Bee-Hive , a 19th century British newspaper*Bee Hive Records, a jazz record label...
s with their jaws, and are mostly indifferent to bee sting
Bee sting
A bee sting is strictly a sting from a bee . In the vernacular it can mean a sting of a bee, wasp, hornet, or yellow jacket. Some people may even call the bite of a horse-fly a bee sting...
s, even when set upon by swarms.
Relationships with other predators
European badgers have few natural enemies. Wolves, lynxesEurasian Lynx
The Eurasian lynx is a medium-sized cat native to European and Siberian forests, South Asia and East Asia. It is also known as the European lynx, common lynx, the northern lynx, and the Siberian or Russian lynx...
and dogs can pose a threat to badgers, though deaths caused by them are rare. They may live alongside red foxes
Red Fox
The red fox is the largest of the true foxes, as well as being the most geographically spread member of the Carnivora, being distributed across the entire northern hemisphere from the Arctic Circle to North Africa, Central America, and the steppes of Asia...
in isolated sections of large burrows. It is possible that the two species tolerate each other out of commensalism
Commensalism
In ecology, commensalism is a class of relationship between two organisms where one organism benefits but the other is neutral...
; foxes provide badgers with food scraps, while badgers maintain the shared burrow's cleanliness. However, cases are known of badgers driving vixens from their dens and destroying their litters without eating them. Raccoon dog
Raccoon Dog
The raccoon dog , also known as the magnut or tanuki, is a canid indigenous to east Asia. It is the only extant species in the genus Nyctereutes...
s may extensively use badger setts for shelter. There are many known cases of badgers and raccoon dogs wintering in the same hole, possibly because badgers enter hibernation 2 weeks earlier than the latter, and leave 2 weeks later. In exceptional cases, badger and raccoon dog cubs may coexist in the same burrow. Badgers may drive out or kill raccoon dogs if they overstay their welcome.
Range
The distributional boundrary between the ranges of European and Asian badgerAsian Badger
The Asian badger , also known as the sand badger is a species of badger native to China, Kazakhstan, the Korean Peninsula and Russia.-Description:...
s is the Volga River
Volga River
The Volga is the largest river in Europe in terms of length, discharge, and watershed. It flows through central Russia, and is widely viewed as the national river of Russia. Out of the twenty largest cities of Russia, eleven, including the capital Moscow, are situated in the Volga's drainage...
, the European species being situated on the western bank. They are common in European Russia
European Russia
European Russia refers to the western areas of Russia that lie within Europe, comprising roughly 3,960,000 square kilometres , larger in area than India, and spanning across 40% of Europe. Its eastern border is defined by the Ural Mountains and in the south it is defined by the border with...
, with 30,000 individuals having been recorded there in 1990. They are abundant and increasing throughout their range due to a reduction in rabies. In the UK, badgers experienced a 77% increase in population during the 1980s-1990s. The current badger population in Great Britain is estimated at 250,000 (190,000 in England, 25,000 in Scotland and 35,000 in Wales).
Diseases and parasites
TuberculosisTuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
is a major mortality factor in badgers, though infected badgers can live and successfully breed for years before succumbing. Badgers are vulnerable to the mustelid herpesvirus-1, as well as rabies
Rabies
Rabies is a viral disease that causes acute encephalitis in warm-blooded animals. It is zoonotic , most commonly by a bite from an infected animal. For a human, rabies is almost invariably fatal if post-exposure prophylaxis is not administered prior to the onset of severe symptoms...
and canine distemper
Canine distemper
Canine distemper is a viral disease that affects animals in the families Canidae, Mustelidae, Mephitidae, Hyaenidae, Ailuridae, Procyonidae, Pinnipedia, some Viverridae and Felidae...
, though the latter two are absent in Great Britain. Badgers have been implicated in spreading bovine tuberculosis to cattle. Other diseases carried by European badgers include arteriosclerosis
Arteriosclerosis
Arteriosclerosis refers to a stiffening of arteries.Arteriosclerosis is a general term describing any hardening of medium or large arteries It should not be confused with "arteriolosclerosis" or "atherosclerosis".Also known by the name "myoconditis" which is...
, pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
, pleurisy
Pleurisy
Pleurisy is an inflammation of the pleura, the lining of the pleural cavity surrounding the lungs. Among other things, infections are the most common cause of pleurisy....
, nephritis
Nephritis
Nephritis is inflammation of the nephrons in the kidneys. The word "nephritis" was imported from Latin, which took it from Greek: νεφρίτιδα. The word comes from the Greek νεφρός - nephro- meaning "of the kidney" and -itis meaning "inflammation"....
, enteritis
Enteritis
In medicine, enteritis, from Greek words enteron and suffix -itis , refers to inflammation of the small intestine. It is most commonly caused by the ingestion of substances contaminated with pathogenic microorganisms. Symptoms include abdominal pain, cramping, diarrhea, dehydration and fever...
, polyarthritis
Polyarthritis
Polyarthritis is any type of arthritis which involves 5 or more joints simultaneously. It is usually associated with autoimmune conditions.Polyarthritis may be experienced at any age and is not gender specific.-Causes:...
and lymphosarcoma. Ectoparasites carried by badgers include the flea
Flea
Flea is the common name for insects of the order Siphonaptera which are wingless insects with mouthparts adapted for piercing skin and sucking blood...
s Paraceras melis, Chaetopsylla trichosa and Pulex irritans, the lice Trichodectes melis, the tick
Tick
Ticks are small arachnids in the order Ixodida, along with mites, constitute the subclass Acarina. Ticks are ectoparasites , living by hematophagy on the blood of mammals, birds, and sometimes reptiles and amphibians...
s Ixodes ricinus
Ixodes ricinus
Ixodes ricinus, the castor bean tick, is a chiefly European species of hard-bodied tick. It may reach a length of when engorged with a blood meal, and can transmit both bacterial and viral pathogens such as the causative agents of Lyme disease and tick-borne encephalitis.-Description:In common...
, I. canisuga, I. hexagonus
Ixodes hexagonus
Ixodes hexagonus is a tick species in the genus Ixodes. It is a parasite of the European Hedgehog....
, I. reduvius, I. melicula. Mange
Mange
Mange is the common name for a class of persistent contagious skin diseases caused by parasitic mites. Since mites also infect plants, birds, and reptiles, the term "mange," suggesting poor condition of the hairy coat due to the infection, is sometimes reserved only for pathological...
is also carried by them. Helminths carried by badgers include trematodes such as Itygonimus lorum, nematode
Nematode
The nematodes or roundworms are the most diverse phylum of pseudocoelomates, and one of the most diverse of all animals. Nematode species are very difficult to distinguish; over 28,000 have been described, of which over 16,000 are parasitic. It has been estimated that the total number of nematode...
s such as Molineus patens, Uncinaria stenocephala
Uncinaria stenocephala
Uncinaria stenocephala is one of the most common nematode parasites targeting dogs, cats, and foxes as well as humans.Common name: The Northern hookworm of dogs.-Life cycle:...
, Capilara erinacei, Aelurostrongylus falciformis and tapeworms such as Mesocestoides lineatus and Dilepis undula.
In folklore and literature
Irish mythology
The mythology of pre-Christian Ireland did not entirely survive the conversion to Christianity, but much of it was preserved, shorn of its religious meanings, in medieval Irish literature, which represents the most extensive and best preserved of all the branch and the Historical Cycle. There are...
, badgers are portrayed as shape-shifter
Therianthropy
Therianthropy refers to the metamorphosis of humans into other animals. Therianthropes are said to change forms via shapeshifting. Therianthropes have long existed in mythology, appearing in ancient cave drawings such as the Sorcerer at Les Trois Frères....
s and kinsmen to Tadg, the king of Tara
Hill of Tara
The Hill of Tara , located near the River Boyne, is an archaeological complex that runs between Navan and Dunshaughlin in County Meath, Leinster, Ireland...
and foster father of Cormac mac Airt
Cormac mac Airt
Cormac mac Airt , also known as Cormac ua Cuinn or Cormac Ulfada , was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland...
. In one story, Tadg berates his adopted son for having killed and prepared some badgers for dinner. In German folklore
German folklore
German folklore shares many characteristics with Scandinavian folklore and English folklore due to their origins in a common Germanic mythology. It reflects a similar mix of influences: a pre-Christian pantheon and other beings equivalent to those of Norse mythology; magical characters associated...
, the badger is portrayed as a cautious, peace-loving Philistine
Philistinism
Philistinism is a derogatory term used to a particular attitude or set of values perceived as despising or undervaluing art, beauty, spirituality, or intellectualism. A person with this attitude is referred to as a Philistine and may also be considered materialistic, favoring conventional social...
, who loves more than anything his home, family and comfort, though he can become aggressive if surprised. He is a cousin of Reynard the Fox, whom he uselessly tries to convince to return to the path of righteousness.
In Kenneth Graham's The Wind in the Willows
The Wind in the Willows
The Wind in the Willows is a classic of children's literature by Kenneth Grahame, first published in 1908. Alternately slow moving and fast paced, it focuses on four anthropomorphised animal characters in a pastoral version of England...
, Mr. Badger is depicted as a gruff, solitary figure who "simply hates society", yet is a good friend to Mole and Ratty. A friend of Toad's now-deceased father, he is often firm and serious with Toad, but at the same time generally patient and well-meaning towards him. He can be seen as a wise hermit, a good leader and gentleman, embodying common sense. He is also brave and a skilled fighter, and helps clear the Wild Wooders from Toad Hall.
A villainous badger named Tommy Brock appears in Beatrix Potter
Beatrix Potter
Helen Beatrix Potter was an English author, illustrator, natural scientist and conservationist best known for her imaginative children’s books featuring animals such as those in The Tale of Peter Rabbit which celebrated the British landscape and country life.Born into a privileged Unitarian...
's 1912 book The Tale of Mr. Tod
The Tale of Mr. Tod
The Tale of Mr. Tod is a children's book written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter, first published by Frederick Warne & Co. in 1912. The tale is about a badger called Tommy Brock and his neighbour Mr. Tod, a fox. Brock kidnaps the children of Benjamin Bunny and his wife Flopsy, and hides them in...
, where he is shown kidnapping the children of Benjamin Bunny and his wife Flopsy, and hides them in an oven in the home of Mr. Tod the fox, with whom he fights in the book's conclusion. The book's portrayal of the badger as a filthy animal which appropriates fox dens was criticised from a naturalistic viewpoint, though the inconsistencies are few and employed to create individual characters rather than evoke an archetypical fox and badger. A wise old badger named Trufflehunter appears in C. S. Lewis
C. S. Lewis
Clive Staples Lewis , commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis and known to his friends and family as "Jack", was a novelist, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian and Christian apologist from Belfast, Ireland...
' Prince Caspian
Prince Caspian
Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia is a novel for children by C. S. Lewis, written in late 1949 and first published in 1951. It is the second-published book in the Chronicles of Narnia series, although in the overall chronological sequence it comes fourth.-Plot summary:While standing on a...
, where he aids Caspian X
Caspian X
Caspian X, King of Narnia, Lord of Cair Paravel and Emperor of The Lone Islands, also called Caspian the Seafarer and Caspian the Navigator, is a fictional character in The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis. He is featured in three books in the series: Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn...
in his struggle against King Miraz. A badger takes a prominent role in Colin Dann
Colin Dann
Colin Dann is an English author. He is best known for his The Animals of Farthing Wood series of books, which was subsequently made into an animated series....
's The Animals of Farthing Wood
The Animals of Farthing Wood (book series)
The Animals of Farthing Wood is a series of eight books written by British author Colin Dann. The books tell the story of a group of woodland animals whose home has been paved over by developers. They learn of a nature reserve, White Deer Park, where they will be safe, and undertake to make the...
series as second in command to Fox. The badger is also the house symbol for Hufflepuff in the "Harry Potter
Harry Potter
Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by the British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter and his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...
" book series. The Redwall
Redwall
Redwall, by Brian Jacques, is a series of fantasy novels. It is the title of the first book of the series, published in 1986, the name of the Abbey featured in the book, and the name of an animated TV series based on three of the novels , which first aired in 1999...
series also has the Badger Lords, who rule the extinct volcano fortress of Salamandastron and are renowned as fierce warriors.
Hunting
European badgers are of little significance to hunting economies, though they may be actively hunted locally. Methods used for hunting badgers include catching them in jaw traps, ambushing them at their setts with guns, smoking them out of their earths and through the use of specially bred dogs such as fox terrierFox Terrier
Fox Terrier refers primarily to two different breeds of the terrier dog type: the Smooth Fox Terrier and the Wire Fox Terrier. Both of these breeds originated in the 19th century from a handful of dogs who are descended from earlier varieties of British terriers, and are related to other modern...
s and dachshund
Dachshund
The dachshund is a short-legged, long-bodied dog breed belonging to the hound family. The standard size dachshund was bred to scent, chase, and flush out badgers and other burrow-dwelling animals, while the miniature dachshund was developed to hunt smaller prey such as rabbits...
s to dig them out. Badgers are however notoriously durable animals ; their skin is thick, loose and covered in long hair which acts as protection, and their heavily ossified skulls allow them to shrug off most blunt trauma
Blunt trauma
In medical terminology, blunt trauma, blunt injury, non-penetrating trauma or blunt force trauma refers to a type of physical trauma caused to a body part, either by impact, injury or physical attack; the latter usually being referred to as blunt force trauma...
s, as well as shotgun
Shotgun
A shotgun is a firearm that is usually designed to be fired from the shoulder, which uses the energy of a fixed shell to fire a number of small spherical pellets called shot, or a solid projectile called a slug...
pellets.
Some badger products have medicinal properties ; badger expert Ernest Neal, quoting from an 1810 edition of The Sporting Magazine
The Sporting Magazine
The Sporting Magazine was the first English sporting periodical to devote itself to every type of sport, thus providing the historian with a reasonably comprehensive source.-History:...
, wrote ;
Their hairs are used for making shaving brushes and sporran
Sporran
The Sporran is a traditional part of male Scottish Highland dress. It is a pouch that performs the same function as pockets on the pocketless Scottish kilt....
s and the skin is sometimes used to make shagreen
Shagreen
Shagreen is a type of leather or rawhide consisting of rough untanned skin, formerly made from a horse's back or that of an onager . Shagreen is now commonly made of the skins of sharks and rays....
. Badger meat is eaten in some districts of the former Soviet Union, though in most cases it is discarded. Smoked hams made from badgers were once highly esteemed in England, Wales and Ireland.
Badger-baiting
Badger-baiting was once a popular blood sportBlood sport
Bloodsport or blood sport is any sport or entertainment that involves violence against animals.Bloodsport includes coursing or beagling, combat sports such as cockfighting and dog fighting, or other activities...
, in which badgers were captured alive, placed in boxes and forced to fight dogs.
Badger baiting was outlawed in the United Kingdom as early as 1835, with the Cruelty to Animals Act
Cruelty to Animals Act 1835
The Cruelty to Animals Act 1835 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom , which was intended to protect animals from mistreatment....
. The practice of baiting of animals is now specifically forbidden under the Protection of Animals Act 1911
Protection of Animals Act 1911
The Protection of Animals Act 1911 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It received Royal Assent on 18 August 1911.The act consolidated several previous pieces of legislation, among others repealing the Cruelty to Animals Act 1849 and the Wild Animals in Captivity Protection Act 1900...
. Moreover, the cruelty towards and death of the badger constitute offences under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992, and further offences under this act are inevitably committed to facilitate badger baiting (such as interfering with a sett, or the taking or the very possession of a badger for purposes other than nursing an injured animal to health). If convicted, badger baiters may face a sentence of up to 6 months in jail, a fine of up to £5000, as well as other punitive measures, such as community service
Community service
Community service is donated service or activity that is performed by someone or a group of people for the benefit of the public or its institutions....
or a ban from owning dogs.
Tameability
There are several accounts of European badgers being tamed. Tame badgers can be affectionate pets, and can be trained to come to their owners when their names are called. They are easily fed, as they are not fussy eaters, and will instinctively unearth rats, moles and young rabbits without training, though they do have a weakness for pork. Although there is one record of a tame badger befriending a fox, they generally do not tolerate the presence of cats and dogs, and will chase them.Further reading
- Ernest Neal & Chris Cheeseman. Badgers (Poyser, 2002)
- Richard Meyer. The Fate of the Badger (Batsford 1986)
External links
- ARKive Photographs and video
- The Badger Trust - representing over 80 British badger groups
- Steve Jackson's Badger Pages - Facts about and photos of the badgers of the world
- Badgerland - The Definitive On-Line Guide to Badgers (Meles meles) in the UK
- Badgerwatcher.com - A guide to watching badgers in the UK
- Wildlifeonline - Natural History of the European Badger
- Lancashire Badger Group.
- Science & Nature: Animals, BBC.
- Badgers in the Netherlands, Badgergroup Brabant Foundation.
- Badger Survey in the Netherlands 2000-2001, The Census Foundation.
- Waarneming.nl Originally a Dutch site, but you can change language at the top of the page. Sightings, pictures and distribution maps of European badgers in the Netherlands.
- Badgers in France, L’assiociation Meles.
Badgers and TB in the UK
- DEFRA (UK government department) position on badgers and TB
- Executive summary of the Krebs Report Bovine Tuberculosis in Cattle and Badgers 1997
- The Randomised Badger Culling Trial
- Godfray Report, Independent Scientific Review of the Randomised Badger Culling Trial and Associated Epidemiological Research, March 2004. PDF format
- National Farmers Union proposals to control badgers (would involve repeal of the 1992 act) July 2005
- NFBG (now Badger Trust) response to the National Farmers Union proposals, August 2005
Claims of continued badger-hunting in the UK
- Allegations of lamping (among other practices) were made in the appendix to the NFBG (now Badger Trust) response to the Krebs Report