Badgers Video (MV)

Badgers are short, stout and powerful animals
And one of the UK's most popular mammals
Recognised as a symbol of British countryside
Famed for their fluffy bodies and black and white stripes
Badgers live in
Social groups made
Up of around four
To eight individuals
Known as a clan
They live in dens
Called setts which are a
Network of underground tunnels
They are a unique predator as they forage
On their own as they're not always cooperative
Unlike other social groups of animals who
May hunt together to benefit as a group
Their favourite food
Are earthworms which
They will often eat
Hundreds in a single night
When conditions
Are harsh earthworms
Are scarce so they'll eat
Small mammals, insects and fruits that they find
A badgers sense of smell is vital as it plays
An important role in the way they communicate
They distribute information using several
Scent glands like mating status and warning signals
A technique where
They dip their rear
Whilst raising their tails
Is labelled as squat marking
They will also
Deposit scents
In their faeces in
Shallow dug pits known as latrines
They mate year round
Though due to delayed
Implantation cubs
Won't be born until late winter
Mothers collect
Straw, hay, grass and fern
So when they give birth
The lined breeding chamber
Will keep cubs warm