How could you possibly not like badgers? Who could possibly resist falling in love with their beautiful iconic black and white faces? Apart from being particularly photogenic, they are one of the most interesting species to observe in the wild. Badgers live in social groups, generally between 4 and 8 individuals and it is fascinating to watch the many interactions between clan members as they emerge from their set in the evening. Cubs in particular are extremely playful, but often adults happily join in. Not really knowing what I was looking for it took me a very long time to track down my very first badger sett. Since then, badger watching has become one of my all-time favourite ways to spend an evening.
Having said that, finding a sett is one thing, finding the RIGHT sett is a different story altogether. Like a lot of European mammals, badgers are mainly active at night, something that has to be factored in when one is planning to observe or photograph them. Most setts are located inside woodland and hence lighting is even more of a problem. You also need to arm yourself with a generous amount of patience – how many evenings have I spent waiting without seeing any badgers at all because they decided to have a lie-in? Yet when you finally see that little black and white nose appear at one of the entrances all those hours of waiting are quickly forgotten, as well as your aching back and the pins needles in your legs due to hours of not moving…..
Badgers play a vital role in our ecosystem. Scientific reasearch has even shown that Lyme disease is much less of a problem in areas where badgers are present. Whilst badgers are protected in a number of European countries this is unfortunately not the case in France. Here they can be hunted for most of the year, setts can be dug out from the 15th May onward, at a time when the cubs are still tiny. Digging out their setts is one of the most barbaric and most cruel way of killing any animal. To get this so-called sports banned please sign the following petition:
