Frequently Asked Questions: Last Updated - 20th October 2009
What is a Badger?
A badger is a mammal, and is a member of the Mustelidae family of animals which include weasels, pine martens, stoats, skunks and otters. Male badgers are called Boars, female badgers are called Sows and young badgers are called Cubs. It is well known for its black and white striped face and its body mainly has a grey appearance.
Where do Badgers Live?
Badgers live in an underground tunnel called a sett. These can range in size from a single hole to a complex sett with over a hundred entrances. They are found over a large percentage of the UK, but are absent in much of Scotland, the Isle of Man and areas of Norfolk where the terrain is either unsuitable for digging setts, or there is insufficient food to support them. The average size of a badger's territory is 1Km² although much larger territories will be found in areas where food is harder to find.
When do Badgers Breed?
Badgers can mate and conceive
at anytime of the year, but due to a process called 'delayed implantation', the
fertilised egg does not implant in the womb and begin to develop until late
October/early November. Gestation is around 12 weeks and virtually all badgers
are therefore born within the first 2 weeks of February. Litters will usually
have 2 or 3 cubs.
What Enemies do Badgers Have?
Badgers do not have natural enemies; they are not killed or eaten by any other animal. The only real enemy to badgers is man. Approximately 47,000 badgers are reported killed on Britain's roads each year. In addition, an estimated 10,000 die due to the illegal, barbaric 'sport' of 'Badger Baiting'.
What is a Badger's Best Sense, and What is its Worst?A badger's best sense is
smell, followed closely by hearing. The worst sense of a badger is sight; being
a nocturnal animal and living underground means most of its life is spent in
darkness.
How do Badgers Recognise Each Other?
Badgers, as will all members
of the Mustlidae family, use scent marking, or 'Musking' to recognise members
of their own family. Scent marking is also used to mark their pathways,
boundaries or territories, where latrines are found. Badgers intruding from a
different territory will have a different scent and will therefore be quickly
identified. It is believed that badgers distinctive facial stripes are also
used at night to aid recognition.
Is it OK to Feed Badgers in my Garden?
That’s an important question
and there’s no absolute answer. In fact, some of our members are against
feeding at all. They’re worried that if you feed badgers, they’ll stop foraging
for themselves. Or that you will attract more badgers than the territory can
support naturally. Then, if you stop feeding for any reason, the badgers will
be left to starve. We have come to the conclusion that despite the problems,
supplementary feeding is a good thing. It’s particularly good for cubs as it
boosts their growth rate and so increases their chance of surviving the crucial
first winter of their lives. And don’t forget to put out some fresh water
daily, other animals need this too.
It Sounds as if I Should Only Put Out Fairly Small Quantities of Food?
That’s right; keep the
quantity down to about a handful for each badger that you know come into the garden.
And don’t put food out more than three times a week.That way the badgers can’t
rely on handouts, they just get an occasional tasty snack.
Important, if
badgers have to cross the road to
get to your garden you must not feed them. If you do, sooner or later, a car
will hit them, which is the last thing you want.
What Sort of Food Should I Give Them?
Badgers are omnivorous and
will eat a wide range of food. Their favourite food is earthworms and they also
love grubs and insect larvae and are well known for destroying wasp’s nests to
get at young larvae inside. They also eat fruit, cereals, carrion, hedgehogs
and young rabbits. OK, so you can’t supply all their natural food. Instead,
give them raw peanuts, the kind sold at pet stores to feed birds. Don’t give
them sweet things, as the sugar will rot their teeth.
Should I Put the Food in a Dog Bowl?
You can, but if you have a
number of badgers coming to feed, you usually find that there will be some
pushing and shoving and the dominant ones tend to hog all the food... It’s best
practise to spread the food around. But if the main reason you’re feeding
badgers is to watch them, use a bowl, then you’ll get plenty of warning that the
badgers have arrived. Another idea is to trail a small amount of peanuts to the
area where you want the badgers to feed.
Will Feeding our Local Badgers Increase the Number of Sightings?
It usually does, but however much fun you get out of badger watching, their welfare must come first. Don’t fall into the temptation of feeding every night, just so you can watch them.
Is it Worth Telling the Neighbours that I’m Going to Start Feeding the Badgers?
It might be wise to do so.
They might object if they’re keen gardeners for example. Or they might be
putting food out already.
Suppose I Want to Discourage Badgers from Coming into My Garden?
You can try decoying them away from your lawn or your prize begonias
by putting out peanuts near to the route that they use to enter the garden. The
badgers are probably after grubs in the soil and if they’re offered a favourite
snack, they may lose interest in what they originally came for. Anyway, badgers
usually stop coming after a while, because the insects they’re after have gone.
If they start coming in the autumn, they are after Leatherjackets and they’ll
stop as soon as the cold weather comes. The Badger Protection Act will regulate
anything else that you try, which means that anything that will harm a badger is
out of the question. Chemical deterrents like Renardine has now been banned.
There are no legal chemical badger deterrents.
Suppose I Want to Photograph the Badgers?
This will take time and patience. Take note of what the RSPCA suggest below:
4.4 Watching at badger setts by the RSPCA
Badger watching is a popular
activity with many naturalists, and the value of badger watching in providing
valuable information on the biology of badgers should not be under-rated (see
the booklet Projects on badgers - Chapter
12 Further Reading). However, it is important that badger watching is
undertaken in a responsible manner, especially since badgers are sensitive to
disturbance and excessive or irresponsible badger watching can be detrimental
to the long-term breeding success or survival of a group of badgers.
First of all, ensure that the
landowner knows what you are doing and that you have his/her permission to be
on the land. This prevents ill-will towards the watchers and, more importantly,
the badgers. Also, by keeping the landowner informed about the badgers, you may
engender a degree of interest in their welfare. A landowner who is interested
in the badgers on his/her land will be more willing to keep an eye on the sett
and ensure that it is not dug or disturbed. It is also important not to start
watching at a sett which is being watched by someone else. Several groups of
people watching the one sett on different occasions must be avoided.
When watching a sett,
remember that it is important not to disturb the badgers before, during or
after the watch, since disturbance will affect their behaviour and, in periods
of food shortage, may reduce the amount of time available to the badgers for
foraging. Ideally, the badgers should never know of your visit. Hence keep the
number of people on each visit to no more than two or three except for large
setts where people can be more widely spaced, always approach the sett from
downwind, be in position well before the badgers emerge, and do not position
yourself too close to the holes. Watching from a tree may help reduce the
chance of disturbing the badgers, but make sure you are in a comfortable
position, so that you do not move or fidget when the badgers emerge. A good
insect repellent may help here. Also, ensure you are wearing dark clothing that
does not rustle.
If for any reason the badgers
do detect you and bolt down a hole, then leave to ensure that they will not be
alarmed again when they re-emerge. Otherwise, never leave before the badgers
have dispersed well away from the sett area, and remember that it is just as
important not to disturb the badgers when you leave. So take exactly the same
precautions as when you approach the sett, and do not talk or make a noise
until you are a long way off. Finally,
remember that there are already lots of very good badger photographs available; photography will scare the badgers and
ruin the watch. So observe the badgers rather than take flash photographs. If
you want to take your own photographs, try to habituate the badgers to your
presence before you start taking pictures. A few peanuts may help to dispel the
badgers' initial fears, and adjust your behaviour to the response of the
badgers; if they are very nervous, do not try to take more pictures until they
have settled down. Finally, never change the environment around the sett, such
as by clearing vegetation, just to enhance the quality of your photographs,
since this may significantly change the behaviour of the badgers. This is at
best very bad practice, and in excess e.g. clearing scrub, would require a
licence. It is unlikely that a licence would be issued for such an operation.
Whilst trying to minimise the
disturbance to the badgers, it should also be remembered that watching wild
badgers is a particularly rewarding experience, especially for young people,
and that the benefits obtained by stimulating this interest are immeasurable.
So there are great advantages in having a suitable sett to which to take people
to watch badgers. Assessing what makes a suitable sett is difficult, but ideally
it should be easy to watch without disturbing the badger’s, and one where
several people can be positioned with good views of the badgers. In addition,
if the badgers are relatively tame or used to the presence of people, this is a
great advantage. But if you have a show sett, be careful not to over-exploit
it.
What Protection do Badgers Have?
Badgers are now fully
protected by law. The Protection of Badgers Act in 1992 makes all the following
actions illegal:
Penalties for the offences are up to £5,000 fine/or 6 months imprisonment, for each badger involved, multiple penalties being cumulative. For example, a person found guilty of being in possession of 6 illegally killed badgers could be liable for a fine of up to £30,000 or up to 3 years imprisonment. In addition, the offender can be banned from keeping dogs for an unlimited period, and any dogs, vehicles or equipment used in the commission of the offence(s) may be impounded and destroyed.
How do I Find out More About
Badgers?
Your local library will have
some books on badgers and may have contact details for your local 'Badger
Protection Group'. Some vets will also have contact details for local groups.
Badger Trust (Formerly the National Federation of Badger Groups) is a charity
which works with all the registered badger groups in the UK, and will be happy
to provide details of local groups on request. Here are the details of the
Badger Trust:
Address:
Badger Trust,
PO Box 708,
East Grinstead,
RH19 2WN
Telephone: 0845 828 7878
Fax: 0238 0238 3896
Email: enquiries@badgertrust.org.uk
Website: www.badgertrust.org.uk
or you can contact us via the contact page and we will be happy to answer any of your
questions.