No.023 · Mammals · Uncommon
Badger
Meles meles
Britain's largest land carnivore, a stripe-faced, earthworm-eating night-walker that lives in big family setts. Sit still and downwind at dusk and you may see it snuffle out of the woods.
When to look
March to November, mostly at dusk and night.
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Time of day
- Dawn
- Day
- Dusk
- Night
- Best time
- Dusk into night. Spring and summer evenings are best, once the cubs are above ground (from about April). Badgers stay in the sett more in cold snaps but do not truly hibernate.
- Where in the game
- the New Forest (ancient woodland and heath) and Millbrook (farmland and park)
- Size
- Head and body 75–100 cm, tail about 15 cm
- Weight
- Typically 8–12 kg; heaviest before winter
- Lifespan
- Average 5–8 years in the wild
- Population
- About 562,000 in Great Britain (Mammal Society, 2018 review; 95% confidence interval 391,000–1,014,000)
- Status
- Least Concern (Britain, Mammal Society Red List for Britain)
Diet
Mostly earthworms (several hundred a night), plus beetles, slugs, fruit, cereal, bulbs, wasp grubs and occasionally small mammals.
Habitat
Woodland edges, hedgerows and pasture with soil deep enough to dig a sett. The New Forest's oak and beech woods have setts on well-drained banks.
Breeding
Cubs are born underground in January–February, most in February; usually 2–3 in a litter (1–5). They first come above ground at about 8–12 weeks, in spring.
Field signs
- Sett: several large oval entrances, wider than they are tall and about 30 cm across, with big heaps of excavated soil and old bedding at the entrances
- Well-worn paths through vegetation and under fences, often with a narrow 'badger gap'
- Dung pits: small shallow latrines near the sett or territory edge
- Five-toed tracks with long claw marks, in mud
Did you know?
- A sett can spread over hundreds of square metres, with many large entrances, and house up to two dozen adults and their cubs (PTES).
- Badgers collect bundles of dry grass, bracken and leaves for bedding, drag them backwards into the sett, and often leave a bundle outside to air (Scottish SPCA).
- Britain's badger population has recovered steadily since protection was first introduced in the 1970s (PTES).
Moments worth waiting for
- Cubs emerge
Two pale-faced cubs tumble out of the sett for the first time, sniffing everything, then bolt back inside at the smallest sound. - Airing the bedding
A badger shuffles backwards out of the sett clutching a bundle of dry bracken under its chin.
Photo tip
Watch from downwind, about 20–30 m from a sett, arriving well before dusk and settling in for at least an hour. Use a long lens, high ISO and a fast aperture; a very dim red light is far less disturbing than white. Stay still, silent, and never use flash or a bright torch.
Be a good naturalist
Never approach, block or dig near a sett, and never share sett locations publicly. Disturbing setts is an offence under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992. Do not bait or put out food to draw them in; a badger that learns to trust people is easier to harm.
The law
Protection of Badgers Act 1992: it is illegal to kill, injure or take a badger, or to damage, block or disturb a sett. Disturbing a sett, even by watching too close, can be an offence.