Badgers

1
Badgers

• Senior Classes
• Scoil Naomh Caitríona

2
Badgers

• Badgers are closely related to
• Otters
• Stoats
• Pine martens
• Weasels
• Polecats

3
Habits

• Badgers are largely nocturnal animals.
• They are shy and retiring.
• They live in family groups and social groups.

4
Footprints

• Badger prints are broader than they are long with
  five toes and five long, non-retractable powerful
  claws that they use for digging.

5
Home

• A badger's home is called a sett. The sett is an
  underground home, often with a labyrinth of
  tunnels involving the excavation of tons of
  earth.
• The sense of smell is the most important of the
  badgers senses. Badgers forage for food with
  their snouts constantly sniffing the ground ahead
  of them.

6
Life cycle

• An adult can grow up to 95cm long and usually
  weighs from 10 to 14 kg.
• Badger cubs are born in February.
• The number of cubs is usually between one and
  three.
• Cubs emerge in May, after spending the first
• 8 10 weeks underground.

7
Enemies

• The main enemy of the badger is mankind.
• People try to trap badgers and put them in fights
  against dogs.
• This is illegal, and police and volunteers are
  always on the lookout for the culprits.

8
Popular Culture

• The old name for badger is brock, in English,
  broc in Irish.
• Many badgers feature in the Redwall series of
  books by Brian Jacques.
• Other stories featuring badgers are The Wind in
  the Willows, Farthing Wood, Fantastic Mr. Fox,
  The Chronicles of Narnia.
• The House of Hufflepuff (H. Potter) is symbolised
  by a badger.
• The badger is the state animal of Wisconsin.