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Photo: Richard King
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UK
Safari Tip:
It's been estimated that badgers sense of smell is 800 times better than ours,
so you need to watch badgers downwind from them so they can't detect your scent.
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Latin name: Meles meles
Size: Badgers grow to around 80cms in length, and have a short tail of around 15cms. They are our heaviest carnivore, weighing up to 18kgs.
Distribution: Distributed throughout the U.K. but more frequently seen in the south and west.
Months seen: All year
Habitat: Like foxes, they have spread to urban areas, but most still prefer to live in undisturbed woodland.
Food: A badgers diet consists of just about anything. They are true omnivores, but they are particularly partial to earthworms, mice, frogs and bluebell bulbs.
They will even come into urban gardens at night to search for nuts and bread left around bird
tables.
Special Features: Badgers are one of our most shy and harmless mammals. They spend the daytime underground in their dens, known as
'setts'. They come out after dark to feed and play.
The name 'badger' comes from the French word 'becheur', which means digger.
Badgers have stocky bodies and powerful front paws which they use for digging out their underground homes. They can be easily recognised by their two black facial stripes running from the nose, across the eyes and ears, to the back of the neck.
They often live in large family groups of 10 or more, and the setts are used by successive generations of badgers. A sett can remain in the same location for centuries.
Badgers are meticulously clean animals, spending much of their time grooming themselves, and each other. They change their bedding at regular intervals for fresh grass and leaves. They also dig special dung pits or latrines well away from the entrances to the
sett.
An old English name for the badger is 'brock' and some villages, like 'Brockenhurst' and
'Brockhampton' reflect this word in their name, indicating their ancient associations with
badgers. Find out more with this book called 'Badgers'.
Mammal Identification Chart
Identifying British Mammal Tracks + Signs
Photo of Badgers Sleeping in a Sett
What's an Erythristic Badger?
Badger Cub Rescue Story
Back Garden Badgers
UK Safari Mammal Section
Badger Groups and Organisations
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Here's
a video clip of a badger feeding in a garden