Selby and Goole Badger Watch - telephone us on 0771 1883072
THE BADGER'S YEAR
LET'S TAKE A LOOK MONTH BY MONTH AT THE BADGER'S YEAR (under construction)
JANUARY
Awaiting the birth of cubs
The female badgers, the sows, are pregnant and are less active spending most of their time underground due to the cold weather, frozen ground and less food being available.
January is also a dangerous time for badgers as it's one of the months badger diggers and badger baiters go after the pregnant and nursing sows. This means being extremely vigilant and watching setts very carefully.
FEBRUARY
THE PEAK MONTH FOR WHEN CUBS ARE BORN
February is the month when most pregnant females, the sows, give birth to between one and five cubs, with the average litter size being three cubs. However cubs can also be born earlier in January and a bit later in March. Badger cubs are born blind and are covered in a silvery-white coloured down. The stripes on their little faces will begin to show within days.
Mating also increases in February and male badgers, the boars will travel more widely over their own and neighbouring badger territories in search of females to mate with.
MARCH
SPRING HAS ARRIVED AND THE BADGERS ARE BUSY !
Badgers are busy with housekeeping this month. They are extremely clean and houseproud animals, often changing their bedding and leaving it outside the sett to air. As the weather improves and food becomes more readily available, so too does badger activity and there is often a significant increase in the numbers of badgers killed on roads. In March, cubs are still completely dependant on their mothers.
APRIL
Highly qualified and motivated professionals
Our family-run business company has a long tradition in the industry. It was founded in 1982 by Joey Lord, who passed the business onto his son, Roberto, in 2005. We pride ourselves on providing outstanding customer service to order to guarantee that all of our clients are 100% satisfied.
MAY
A wonderful month to start badger watching
What a delightful month May is in the badger's calendar year! The woodlands are full of fragrant bluebells and finally, the weather has turned warmer and the days are longer. The fluffy cubs are now three to four months old and will venture above ground to explore around their sett and play with the other badger cubs. May is a good month to start badger watching as the badgers may emerge in daylight, the midges are not too bad and the cubs playing chase are a delight to watch.
JUNE
Highly qualified and motivated professionals
Our family-run business company has a long tradition in the industry. It was founded in 1982 by Joey Lord, who passed the business onto his son, Roberto, in 2005. We pride ourselves on providing outstanding customer service to order to guarantee that all of our clients are 100% satisfied.
JULY
Highly qualified and motivated professionals
Our family-run business company has a long tradition in the industry. It was founded in 1982 by Joey Lord, who passed the business onto his son, Roberto, in 2005. We pride ourselves on providing outstanding customer service to order to guarantee that all of our clients are 100% satisfied.
AUGUST
Highly qualified and motivated professionals
Our family-run business company has a long tradition in the industry. It was founded in 1982 by Joey Lord, who passed the business onto his son, Roberto, in 2005. We pride ourselves on providing outstanding customer service to order to guarantee that all of our clients are 100% satisfied.
SEPTEMBER
Highly qualified and motivated professionals
Our family-run business company has a long tradition in the industry. It was founded in 1982 by Joey Lord, who passed the business onto his son, Roberto, in 2005. We pride ourselves on providing outstanding customer service to order to guarantee that all of our clients are 100% satisfied.
OCTOBER
IT'S TIME TO FEAST AND FATTEN UP
As Autumn moves nearer to winter, its time for the badgers to fatten up on nature's bounty. This month badgers will feast on windfall fruits such as apples, pears and plums, also eating berries and nuts to ensure they put on the fat reserves needed to see them through a long and hard winter.
Badgers are also busy preparing their setts and excavating tunnels. New bedding such as dried grass and leaves, moss and straw are brought in to the sett. It should be noted that unlike a fox, badgers don't bring food back to their sett. They are clean and tidy animals and do not like smelly carcases around their sett. If you are badger watching and put down something portable, say a peanut butter sandwich, they will run off with it and may take it down into the sett to eat immediately.
NOVEMBER
IT'S TIME TO WIND DOWN AND PREPARE FOR WINTER
The clocks have gone back and the days are short and the nights long. Badger watching is difficult now as it's dark by around 16.30 hours and the badgers' time of emergence becomes a bit erractic. Food is hard to find as the earth is often frozen and sucking up worms can be impossible.
There will be some mating activity.
DECEMBER
WINTER HAS ARRIVED AND IT'S TIME TO SLEEP
Although badgers do not hibernate in the same way as hedgehogs, they do sleep longer and deeper and may enter what is known as "torpor" and not emerge from their setts for days.
This month is also an important phase in the badger’s reproductive cycle. Sows can mate at any time of year but it is not until winter that the embryos implant in the womb and start to grow. This process is called delayed implantation.
Badger setts can and do get attacked in December, including Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Why? you may ask. Well most normal people are at home enjoying Christmas with their family so for badger diggers and baiters its an ideal time, less people out and about to catch them. Bear this in mind when you take your post Christmas Day lunch walk or Boxing Day stroll.
© Copyright. All rights reserved.
We need your consent to load the translations
We use a third-party service to translate the website content that may collect data about your activity. Please review the details in the privacy policy and accept the service to view the translations.