Data Common name: Badger (European) Latin name: Meles meles Found in AsiaAsia, EuropeEurope Charities Badger Trust Credits Sourced from Mammal Society, Badger Land and BBC

Description The European badger has a black and white striped face, a grey body and legs with black fur. They head and body length is about 750mm, whilst their tail is about 150mm. Badgers weigh, in spring, an average of 8-9kg and in autumn 11-12kg. Their maximum life expectancy is about 14 years, however very few survive this long. Badgers are nocturnal and are rarely seen during the day. When they aren't active, they usually lie up in an extensive system of underground tunnels and nesting chambers known as a sett. They will live in social groups of 4 to 12 adults. Usually they are seen walking or trotting, but they can run when needed. They are also good climbers and have the ability to swim. Their eyes are quite small and they don't have particularly good eyesight. Like many other animals, they cannot see anything in colour, just black, grey and white. However, they have very good hearing which they use to listen for danger and also to help find food. Distribution & Habitat The European badger is indigenous to most of Europe (excluding northern Scandinavia, Iceland, Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily and Cyprus) and to parts of Asia. They can be found in broadleaf, coniferous and Mediterranean forests, temperate grassland and some urban areas. Diet Badgers are omnivorous, eating a range of items such as roots, bulbs, fruit, fungi, insects, earthworms, small mammals and dead animals and birds. Reproduction Normally, only one female (sow) badger in a social group will breed, although occasionally two or more may do so. Badgers exhibit delayed implantation after mating. They will then implant the fertilised eggs at the end of December. This means the young are born at the beast time of the year, early spring. They have litters of 2 or 3 cubs that are usually born in February. Their eyes will not open until they are 5 weeks old. They are covered in grey, silky hairs and usually the dark facial stripes are already visible. New cubs are about 120mm long (plus a 30-40mm tail), weighing about 75-130g. They are fed on their mother's milk, and often live within a special nursery chamber within the sett. The sow will remove their waste from the chamber until the time comes when they are mobile enough to use the latrines outside the sett. Dry, clean bedding is of great importance for the survival of the cubs. Their chamber will be filled with hay, straw and bracken to act as a heat insulator. Weaning usually begins when the cubs are at least 3 months old. During this time they will feed on some solid foods, particularly earthworms, and follow their mother when she goes off to feed for herself. Setts Their setts are usually situated in small clearings in woodland or copses. They will be obvious to those who know what to look for, for example the ground around the used entrances will probably be free of vegetation and may be muddy with evidence of badger prints. There may also be latrines (holes in the ground) which badgers use for faeces. A simple sett has a single tunnel, with a sleeping chamber at the end. However, most setts will have several entrance holes and lots of tunnels which link up with each other. These tunnels also link with sleeping and nursery chambers. There may be several interlinking passages underground, arranged so to provide a constant supply of clean fresh air. Entrances may also be on different levels to help stale air rise through the sett and be released into the surrounding woodland. A very large sett can have from 50 to 100 or more entrance holes. A sett this big will have been dug out by lots of badgers of many years and generations. Some setts are known to be over a hundred years old. Badgers like to create their setts where the ground is easy to dig. Sandy soil is a favourite because it stays drier than other soils. Chalk and broken limestone is also a popular choice. Badgers do not like digging into clay because it is wet and sticky. However, badgers will sometimes make setts in clay if forced to do so. They also prefer a good slope, such as on the side of a hill or in a bank, so that water drains away and therefore keeps the sett dry.