Habitat: Woodland (deciduous in Britain) and steppe zones.
Geographical spread: From Britain, Europe N to S Scandinavia. European Russia up to Arctic Circle, S to Palestine, E to Iran, Tibet and S China.
Current population: 250,000 in Britain.
Status: Badger-baiting has been illegal in Britain since 1973.
Size: Head and body length 67-9Ocm, tail length 1 5-20cm.
Weight: Males 12kg, females 10kg.
Average life expectancy: N/A
Normal diet: Omnivorous. Wide variety of plant and animal food, in particular earthworms are often the staple diet. On a good night a badger can catch several hundred worms in a few hours. In dry weather they also eat fruit, cereals, roots such as pignut and small mammals.
Normal lifestyle: Live in stable social groups of up to a dozen individuals. European badgers live in underground setts, which are dug in woodland, in sloping, well-drained soils. They are generally aggressively territorial and a stranger in anoth er's territory will be attacked and possibly killed. On the edges of territories are a number of latrines where the owners defecate or urinate. A latrine consists of up to 50 small pits each up to 1 0cm deep. Peak latrine use occurs between February and May and to a lesser extent in October and November. Badgers may also mark trees and fenceposts. They have a complex set of social rules and regulations. Can be active during the day in quiet areas. Both sexes become sexually mature at about one year old. The European badger mates between February and October with most matings occuring between January and March. Implantation of the egg is delayed 3-9 months and 1-5 (but usually 2) cubs are born in January to March depending on latitude.
Previous geographical spread: South Yorkshire and East Anglia.
Reasons for decline: More than 50% badgers do not survive their first year. The death toll of badgers on the road is about 50,000 per year and 10,000 fall prey to badger diggers and and baiters. In the past and indeed to the present day a large nu mber are caught in snares and are killed by vandals. In some areas of Britain badger numbers are being controlled by the Ministry of Agriculture because of its role as a carrier of bovine TB. Despite legislation protecting badgers in some areas, such as South Yorkshire and notorious badger-baiting black spots.
Current threats: Road traffic appears to be the biggest cause of death.
Conservation projects: South Yorkshire Badger Group working for the Ist 10 years to reverse the situation in South Yorkshire. Volunteers help to protect existing setts and create new ones for existing badgers and reintroduced ones. RSPCA has a wil dlife hospital at West Hatch in Somerset where orphan badgers are grouped into suitable embryo social groups. Reintroduces these orphans into areas of East Anglia where badgers have been wiped out. At Secret World in Somerset, cubs are hand-reared before going into the RSPCA�s release scheme. Care for the Wild and the National Federation of Badger Groups have launched a campaign to identify major road-crossing trouble spots where many badgers are killed by cars. Measures to decrease the number killed include signposts for drivers, headlight-reflectors and tunnels for badgers.
For a free Badger Action Pack write to Care for the Wild, 1 Ashfords, Horsham Road, Rusper, West Sussex, RH12 4OX. Tel: 01293 871596 (information from BBC Wildlife June 1996).
File last modified Thursday, October 3, 1996