A social group living together in the same sett is also known as a 'clan'. While badgers tend to live in groups, they do not always act cooperatively with their fellow clan members.
Badgers are unique in this way as individuals in a clan will forage for food on their own, unlike other social groups of animals who might hunt together and reap the benefit as a group. Badgers have several scent glands which produce a variety of odours, used for distributing information like warning signals and mating status.
Scents produced are also used to tighten bonds between social groups, with studies suggesting that clan members have similar scents. Badgers also deposit scents in their feces and will typically defecate in shallow dug pits known as latrines, which are found on territorial boundaries.
Badgers distribute their scent information through techniques known as squat marking dipping their rear and lifting their tails and allo-marking marking each other. Can you identify this behaviour in our video library? The diet of a badger is extremely varied, with badgers being described by expert Professor Tim Roper as "opportunistic omnivores".
Earthworms are the core of the badger's diet, often by as much as 60 per cent. In a single night, an adult badger may eat well over worms! When conditions are harsh hard frosts, dry or barren areas of habitat , worms can be scarce.
Cleverly, badgers are able to shift to other food items, including snails, slugs and soft fruit like raspberries and fallen blackberries. Badgers will occasionally eat hedgehogs if normal prey items are not abundant - read more about badgers and hedgehogs below.
Badgers mate at almost any time of the year, but due to an unusual reproductive technique, known as delayed implantation, they have only one litter a year. Litter size ranges from one to five cubs, with two or three the more common number. Cubs are born in chambers lined with bedding material that the females sows gather and drag into the breeding chamber. Straw, hay, grass, fern are all commonly used, which keep the cubs warm.
Most cubs are born in early to mid-February and will emerge above ground at around 12 weeks. Sleepy, cute, truly iconic. Find out what they eat, where they live and how to spot them. The flash of a red squirrel leaping from branch to branch is an unforgettable, but increasingly rare sight in UK woods.
Find out all about it, from how it breeds to what it eats. Sleepy, charming, undeniably cute. Find out where hazel dormice live, what they eat and how they breed. Appearance and behaviour Where to find them How to spot them Threats. Quick facts. Common name: badger Scientific name: Meles meles Family: Mustelidae Habitat: broadleaved woodland, farmland, towns and gardens Diet: worms, invertebrates, small mammals, fruit Predators: adults have no predators; cubs sometimes taken by foxes and large birds of prey Origin: native.
What do badgers look like? What do badgers eat? Badgers: what do they eat? Find out more. How do badgers breed? Did you know? Where do badgers live? Signs and spotting tips Badgers are strictly nocturnal and extremely wary of humans. During warm summer weather they may emerge from the sett a short while before sunset.
Setts: One of the best ways to spot a badger is to locate a sett and quietly wait for the inhabitants to emerge, usually around dusk. Position yourself downwind of the sett if possible, as this will prevent the badgers from picking up your scent. According to Daniel Heath Justice, author of " Badger " Reaktion Books, , "Categories are under constant revision, rendering the taxonomic accuracy of any study … temporary at best.
Justice acknowledges that there continues to be a debate about which animals should be considered "true badgers. However, the honey badger, also called the ratel, is generally still included among "badger-kin. Badgers can grow up to 20 to 34 inches 51 to 86 centimeters long from head to tail. The tail adds an additional 4 to 6 inches 10 to 15 cm to its length.
Badgers weigh between 9 and 39 pounds 4 to 18 kilograms. Badgers prefer dry, open grasslands, though they are very adaptable. Some also live in woods, quarries, hedgerows, sea cliffs and moorland. American badgers are typically found in the Great Plains region of North America. Honey badgers are found in southern Africa; hog badgers live primarily in Southeast Asia, India and Sumatra.
Badgers are the main natural predator of hedgehogs in the UK. Because badgers have thick skin and long claws, they are one of the few species that can kill and eat otherwise fairly well protected hedgehogs.
If you think hedgehogs are breeding in your garden or in a neighbouring garden, avoid attracting badgers and foxes if possible until the hedgehog young are well grown. If you have badgers visiting your garden, they can make fascinating guests. Their presence produces a wide and varied response from gardeners; some consider them a nuisance as they may root up flower bulbs, eat fruit and vegetables, and dig up lawns.
But if you enjoy seeing badgers in your garden, there's a range of suitable foods that you can put out. Since they eat such a wide diversity of foods, they will probably eat most of what you put out for them or for the birds, or hedgehogs, or the dog , but it's best to stick to foods that most closely match their natural diet.
Piling food in a heap on your patio does make life easier for badgers, but you may find it more interesting to scatter food across the lawn. If badgers have to sniff the food you'll have more time to observe their foraging and eating habits. Leave out plenty of fresh water at ground level for badgers even throughout the winter when other sources are frozen.
Feeding small and varied amounts of food on an irregular basis is best, especially in times of greatest need winter and spring or as an occasional treat. In terms of quantities, feed no more than the equivalent of a large handful of peanuts or dried food, plus the same amount of soft wet food such as grapes per visiting badger.
Badger setts are often found in broadleaved woods, but they can be found wherever where there are lots of earthworms.
Badgers live in setts - underground burrows which they dig with their powerful, long claws.
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