There's a whole other world that exists after dark...

Yes, I finally found time to set up the trail camera on one of the badger setts I know of locally.

(Note: The following videos may not show in the emailed version of this update; you will need to view online)

There's no pre-amble this time; let's dive right in. I set up the camera at about 4pm and the first thing that tripped the camera was at around 5pm, and wasn't a badger at all. It was something much smaller...

                                             

Just an hour later though, my first badger appeared...

                 

Badgers don't actually hibernate, but will spend much longer underground in really cold weather. On warmer nights they will need to emerge to feed. Much of the liquid a badger needs to live on comes from the wet worms they eat; so badgers do not need to drink much water (unless their supply of worms runs out - like in the hot dry summer or in freezing winters).

I'm not sure if there was interest in the camera, or this large badger just brushed past it?

                 

What happened next astounded me! I know badger can, and do climb, but I've not seen this behaviour until now...

               

But then they began to scratch at the bark. Presumably trying to locate bugs or grubs to feed on. Badgers will also eat worms and snails.

Badgers are strong and have powerful claws. This means that they can scratch bark off trees and eat any grubs that live inside. They can also climb some way up a tree trunk to do this...

              

These two seemed to be having a bit of a game: they look like youngsters to me; maybe last year's babies now growing fast?

               

At around 9pm the whole family appeared! I assume this was the whole group - I think there are at least 4 here. Typically there might be four to eight in a badger family, or clan.

                

One last little bit of footage from what was a good night. The camera actually recorded 30 plus videos, but many were either uninteresting behaviour, or repeated scenes.

             

Lastly, if you're wondering what badgers sound like; then take a little look at this? I don't own this, it's just a link: HERE

You can also find my latest published article for The Wealden HERE