 |
| Photo credit: Matt Collis |
Our April mammal of the month is the
badger. The species we have in the UK is the European badger
(scientific name Meles meles). It will be familiar to many of
us from children's stories and lots of other sources but how many of
you have seen one live in the wild? If you do spot one, please record
it for us here. Any
road-kill victims can also be entered as a record although of course
we hope not to have many of those. Any other mammal records can be
entered via the same page too.
Our top five badger facts are:
- They weigh around 8-9 kg in the spring but go up to about 11 to 12 kg in the autumn
- Social groups usually contain about 6 adults but groups of over 20 have been recorded
- Cubs are born bald and blind within the sett, usually in February, and do not emerge above ground for around 2 months (so look out soon!).
- They mark the edge of their territories with latrines - shallow pits in which they defecate
- The territory around a set is usually around 30 ha but can be up to 150 ha.
For more details, check out the very
informative Mammal Society fact sheet on the species, including
pictures of their tracks and signs.
If you are lucky enough to take a photo
of a badger or have any that you've already taken, we'd love to see
them - please share!
