Badgers are an ancient and protected species, common through the UK. They're also our largest land predator, powerfully built with strong claws. But few people see a badger in the wild. They're shy. And we're their only predator. Over the ages we have persecuted badgers, and continue to do so with questionable culling. So badgers avoid humans at all costs.
They live together in a clan of four to seven adults as a social group. Daytime is spent resting in the sett, a network of underground burrows with outlying smaller setts for the badger to rest up when out foraging. Badgers are very tidy minded. They have a separate toilet area. No food is allowed in the sett. Usually located in wooded areas, a sett is occupied by successive generations
Badgers are active at night and appear a short time before sunset. About half their diet is earthworms, consuming several hundred a night. When worms are scarce badgers eat insects, grain, small mammals and fruit. They are the main predator of hedgehogs.
Mating occurs all year round, mainly between February and May. An impregnated female can delay her pregnancy, so all babies are born between January and March. Typically, two or three cubs are born. Only a couple of females in the clan will produce cubs each year. The babies spend their first two months underground and mature after a year. Some stay with their group, others disperse to find new territory.
A badger's eyesight is poor. They make up for this with a keen sense of smell, several hundred times more effective than ours. They also have keen hearing. Badgers don't hibernate, but are less active in winter when less food is about. In the past their hair was used for sporrans and expensive shaving brushes.
With a little care, you can observe badgers. The best period to watch is from April to June, when you may be lucky to see cubs playing around the sett. Arrive early near the location, and be settled and ready an hour before dusk. Don't walk near or over the sett. Don't wear strong perfume and pick a spot downwind of the sett, so you can't be located by scent. Remove any debris such as dry leaves, to avoid rustling noises. Wear dark clothing so you blend with the background. Whatever the weather, make sure you've got plenty of warm clothing with lots of layers. It will be cool sitting still for a prolonged period. Don't wear waterproofs, since they tend to rustle. Get everything out ready. No point rustling for a chocolate digestive at the wrong time!
And where to see badgers? Take Cambridgeshire Walks route Houghton Meadows & The River Ouse. Along the short cut mentioned, there's an active badger sett.
For more nature topics and walks, click Cambridgeshire Nature Watch.
