Senses

A badger’s sense of smell is a particularly important sense as it plays a vital role in communication. Badgers have several scent glands which produce a variety of odours, used for distributing information like warning signals and mating status.

Scents produced are also used to tighten bonds between social groups, with studies suggesting that clan members have similar scents which are found on territorial boundaries.

Clan

In the UK, badgers live in mixed-sex groups of between four and eight animals in underground ‘setts’. A social group living together in the same sett is also known as a ‘clan’. While badgers tend to live in groups, they do not always act cooperatively with their fellow clan members. Badgers are unique in this way as individuals in a clan will forage for food on their own, unlike other social groups of animals who might hunt together and reap the benefit as a group.

Diet

The diet of a badger is extremely varied with Earthworms are the core of the badger’s diet, often by as much as 60 per cent. In a single night, an adult badger may eat well over 200 worms!

When conditions are harsh (hard frosts, dry or barren areas of habitat), worms can be scarce. Cleverly, badgers are able to shift to other food items, including snails, slugs and soft fruit like raspberries and fallen blackberries.

Protection

Badgers are protected by law. They became a protected species under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992 . It is an offence to kill, wilfully injure or cruelly treat a badger.