Mammal Identification
Badger Meles meles
Identification features
- Black and white striped face, with black stripes through the eyes
- Long body with short legs
- Fur on body is grey/black coloured.
- Black coloured legs
- Short whitish tail
- Feet have five toes, front feet have long claws
Badgers are nocturnal and rarely seen during the day. They excavate burrows (setts) with their powerful feet. Active setts have freshy excavated earth mounds nearby. Badger dung pits can be found near sett entrances.
Other identification clues:
Hairs
Badger hairs can often be found caught on the bottom of wire fences and mixed in with freshly excavated earth at sett entrances. Badger hairs are black and white in colour and are coarse so that they appear angular when rolled between fingers.
Badger footprints have 5 toes in front of a broad kidney-shaped palm pad. The toes almost appear to be in a line and the forefoot ones have long claws.
Droppings
The
colour and content of badger droppings vary
according to what they have been eating. In
the autumn when blackberries are abundant
droppings may appear purple. At other times
they can be black. They can be found in badger
latrines (shallow depressions) near sett
entrances which are covered.
Burrows
Badger setts,
especialy main and annex setts have more than
one entrance. The holes are 25-30cm in
diameter and dome shaped. Active setts have
fresh earth excavated near them. Piles of
vegetation used from bedding may also be found
nearby when it has been replaced by fresh
vegetation.