The badger is well designed to live where it spends most of its time - that is in its labyrinth of large tunnels called a sett. It has a short very strong legs and feet with very long claws. Its body is long and wedge shaped with a small head, thick short neck and very small tail. The snout is elongated, its ears are short and rounded and its eyes are small. The distinctive black and white stripe appearance is produced by two black stripes running from the snout and over the eyes and ears.
The average length of females is 87cm and that of males is 90cm. Badgers are heavy for their size. Males range from 9-16 kg and females range from 6.5 to14 kg. Weights are dependent upon food availability and also on the time of year. In the autumn badgers lay down large amounts of fat to see them through the winter. They do not however hibernate.
Badgers live in a world of smells. For us, when sight and smell is so dominant and our sense of smell so poor, it is difficult to imagine what it is like to live in a world dominated by smells. However for badgers scent plays a leading role in recognizing individuals and their sexual state, in finding food, in detecting danger and in finding their way about.
The male boar and female sow typically live together in a burrow system ( sett ). The sett provides shelter during the day and is also used for breeding. A typical sett would have 3-10 large entrances leading to a network of tunnels and chambers. In a territory there will be typically one main sett and several outlying setts. The latter are used as temporary resting places and also by the cubs when they are no longer welcome at the main sett.
A badgers territory is the area of land one social group defends. Its expanse is limited by how large an area can be successfully defended. Its minimum size is determined by how small an area is needed to provide sufficient food. In high badger density areas main setts of differing social groups can be as little as 1/2 a mile apart.
Badgers are opportunist feeders. They forage for their food and will eat a wide selection of plant and animal food. Their main diet however, up to 60% of all food eaten, is earthworms. This is reflected in the distribution of badgers. High densities are found in areas of of permanent pasture which is grazed to a short height - notably intensive dairy and sheep areas. Worms are plentiful in permanent pasture and badgers need short grass to be able to "hoover" them up. The badger is not adapted for pouncing or fast running although it is quite capable of sudden darts at unsuspecting prey, so active mammals and adult birds seldom appear in the diet, but dead or unhealthy ones do.
A main sett will typically house a dominant sow and boar - the breeding pair, and the cubs of which 2 to 3 are raised each year. In large setts there will be a number of related adults and sometimes more than one breeding pair. Mating can take place at any time of year but the blastocysts usually only implant in December. Gestation taking eight weeks means the cubs are born in February and appear above ground for the first time in late April early May. Cubs will stay at the main sett until food shortages or mating pressures put stress on the social group. Weaker members will then be encouraged to move to outlying setts or to new territories.
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