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Species - Badger
Status
Widespread in Devon
Habitats
Where to see
Badger (Meles meles)
The badger is a nocturnal omnivorous mammal, whose enormous range extends across the whole of the Palearctic, from western Europe to China and Japan, and as far south as Jordan and Israel. It is found in almost every part of the UK with the exception of some areas in Scotland. Its characteristic black and white striped face and its broad, thickset body, carried on short legs, make it unmistakeable.
Badgers inhabit mainly wooded and densely vegetated areas, living in communal burrow systems called setts, each covering about 0.25 hectare. A sett may be used for decades or centuries, by one generation of badgers after another, steadily increasing in complexity and size. Bedding material, in the form of dry grass, brackens, moss, or leaves, is dragged into the den.
Head and body length is 56 to 90 cm, and weight is usually 10-16 kg although old males can attain 30 to 34 kg in late autumn. The diet comprises small mammals, frogs, insects, slugs, earthworms and a variety of roots, shoots and fruits. On mild, damp nights in autumn, badgers may forage alone for up to 10 hours.
The most active time for mating is late winter to summer. Due to delayed implantation, births do not occur until February or March. The cubs (typically one to four) remain underground in a nursery area, for eight weeks before emerging.
Badgers inhabit mainly wooded and densely vegetated areas, living in communal burrow systems called setts, each covering about 0.25 hectare. A sett may be used for decades or centuries, by one generation of badgers after another, steadily increasing in complexity and size. Bedding material, in the form of dry grass, brackens, moss, or leaves, is dragged into the den.
Head and body length is 56 to 90 cm, and weight is usually 10-16 kg although old males can attain 30 to 34 kg in late autumn. The diet comprises small mammals, frogs, insects, slugs, earthworms and a variety of roots, shoots and fruits. On mild, damp nights in autumn, badgers may forage alone for up to 10 hours.
The most active time for mating is late winter to summer. Due to delayed implantation, births do not occur until February or March. The cubs (typically one to four) remain underground in a nursery area, for eight weeks before emerging.