Considering Funny Pics badgers on the Runet or glossy magazines, it seems that the badger is an ordinary cute tame animal, practically a cat. However, those who met him in the wild or went on a badger hunt know what a self-sufficient and intelligent animal it is, capable of organizing its life so as to survive in difficult conditions.
A description of the badger can be found in many sources, both Russian and foreign. After all, there are a lot of places on our planet where the badger lives.
Badgers living in Russian forests feel safe. In warm weather, wolves have no time for badgers, they are already fed up, but sometimes badger is hungry in winter beasts of prey do not get it. Besides, the badger is not so harmless. It is not small (together with the tail - longer than a meter), although it is quite light. The fluffy fur hides how much a badger weighs, and the animal seems larger than you might think. Its weight in summer months rarely exceeds 15 kg, but by September he can gain another 10 kilograms. A domestic badger can fatten up to 40 kilograms by winter.
Due to its thick and long hair, the badger seems even larger than it really is. Fortunately for its owner, badger fur is not soft enough, so it is not in demand in the fur industry. But the look of this beast is interesting and important: the silvery-gray color of the back and sides turns into almost black on the abdomen, such is the badger in the photo.
The physiognomy of the animal is decorated with spectacular eyes and ears of dark stripes, and from the tip of the nose to the forehead goes white stripe, the same white stripes on the cheeks of the beast. So the badger will not spoil the photo if there is an opportunity for a photo session. The shape of the badger body seems to be specially designed for digging holes: the wide ass smoothly merges into narrow shoulders and an elegant long-nosed muzzle.
The limbs of the European badger are short, but strong, and the claws are wide and long. With outward clumsiness, the badger is an excellent runner. Although, in truth, he is quite lazy and prefers to walk importantly, creating quite a lot of noise around him.
Badger habits
The badger is a neat and wonderful owner; the badger's burrow is always clean. The animals live in pairs, but the badger family is not particularly keen to acquire a separate living space.
Meet! Landowner Badger - pictures from life.
In a well-fed time, these animals are more comfortable living in hostels, which are whole underground labyrinths of several tiers and sometimes up to a mile or more in length. The area of these premises where the badger lives can increase from year to year, from decade to decade. It is a highly complex structure with multiple entrances and exits, sleeping and storage areas, and ventilation facilities.
"Rooms" for living often lie very deep underground (deeper than the aquifer by another 5-7 meters). Most often, each family has its own separate entrance to the hole, and maybe several. It happens that several families can use the same main entrance, but there will certainly be emergency exits.
The badger is a clean, economic animal, does not sit in the place with folded paws, loves his house and takes care of it: he will either take out the bedding to dry it, then he will repair the hole, fix it, improve it.
For a badger, the habitat is not limited to burrows.
There is also order and cleanliness around the burrow: neatly dug channels for the toilet are not far from the dwelling, and everything that has served its time is kept away from the place where the owner of the dwelling sleeps and eats.
Only a badger can maintain such an order, but other animals like foxes or raccoon dogs like to live in this order. Therefore, they ask to visit the diligent owner. Nothing, the badger is a hospitable owner, albeit strict. He will let him live, but on condition that the guests observe the hygiene procedure established by him.
And if they get bored, then the badger will expose them. And the zealous owner is not ready to accept all animals in a row: wild cats, ferrets and martens, the entrance to the badger hole is closed. Therefore, do not believe the stories that the fox can occupy the badger hole against his will.
Having invested so much work in its arrangement, it will tear anyone who tries to expel him himself.
Despite the fact that badgers live in colonies, each occupies its own food site on the ground. Neighbors respect the borders and do not enter someone else's territory. In the summer months, if there is enough feed, then this site is limited to a few hectares. The favorite area of such an animal as the common badger is a place near water bodies.
How does a badger eat
The badger is not whimsical in food. He also loves to feast on frogs, slugs, snails by the reservoir, and another time to gut a mouse hole. So what to feed the badger, if you let him into your house, is more or less clear. However, a home badger requires a lot of attention to its person and the impression from a photo of a badger in magazines may not correspond to reality.
In the wild, even in times of famine, the badger clearly eats what. Badgers, described in Wikipedia, do not disdain larvae, beetles and worms for lunch on a hungry day, and berries and roots with mushrooms for dessert. In his burrow, a badger will definitely arrange a pantry, where he will slowly put up supplies for a hungry spring, so that, after waking up after hibernation, he will not wander through a hungry forest, but calmly eat and recuperate.
Family idyll
Badgers are animals that form strong and friendly families where everyone fulfills their duties. The badger mother is engaged in taking care of the offspring. In the spring season, three to six cubs are born. They are still very helpless and need breast milk. The badger feeds them until they are three months old. Then, having matured and strengthened, they can eat the food that adults prefer.
Badgers are very responsible in teaching their cubs to survive on their own. In small areas near burrows, kids learn to hunt. To do this, adult badgers catch mice, lizards and frogs and bring them to their young.
It can be noted that this form of training is inherent in almost all predators.
Towards the end of summer, badgers can independently make forays for food. But their parents still control them. And in the fall, kids learn to equip wintering chambers.
They will spend the winter in a hole with their mother, and in the spring they will go out on their own. Some badgers, born earlier than another litter, live separately from the fall.
Having looked at a separate section of the forest for themselves, they dig holes there and settle down.
And sometimes they find a place for themselves among the dwellings of other badgers, making themselves a house with separate exits. The most important thing in this case is that there is a free area nearby to search for food.
A badger is in sight. Interesting Facts.
The European badger is by nature a creature of habit. Many badger holes are passed down through the generations, like ancient castles. This is why they are often compared to the "upper class" of Britain.
Badger burrows
Dwelling European badger comes in completely different sizes.
The largest badger hole found more resembled old English castles. Since, it had over 100 entrances, great amount rooms and long tunnels. A clan of 20 badgers lived in this castle. By nature, badgers spend about half of their lives in a state of sleep.
The animal belongs to the carnivorous mammal of the marten family. His relatives include the otter and the ermine. Badgers usually do not need to drink, as they mainly consume juicy earthworms. Only with severe hunger do badgers feed on mice, beetles, toads, rats and even grain.
Hunting and food
In general, badgers are quite talented hunters. In one exit, they are able to catch more than 70 of their victims. Their food is quite moderate, badgers eat little by little. Only closer to autumn do badgers stock up on fat, so that they have a food source during winter sleep... it sole representative of the weasel family, flowing into hibernation... For a badger, hibernation is the first thing in the snowy cold. The badger takes on slender forms in the spring and actively begins a new season.
As a rule, badgers are not aggressive towards people. The badger in the photo is always calm. It is preferable for them to avoid contact by hiding in a burrow. But you should not specifically anger the badger, as he may stand up for himself.
Badger communication
Under the tail of the badger there are special glands that secrete a rather odorous substance called musk. Thanks to him, the badger marks its territory. Also, with the help of it, clan affiliation is determined.
In the case of a long absence in its burrow, the smell can disappear. In this case, the animal runs the risk of being left without its family.
Badgers have their own vocabulary, which consists of sixteen different sounds. Mating in this species of animals can occur at any time of the year.
Unfortunately, due to the high mortality rate, only a small part survive to their first anniversary.
A huge part of badgers die on the roads under the wheels of American cars. Despite the shooting, their number is constantly growing. Such a harsh measure is due to the suspicion that badgers are a carrier of bovine tuberculosis.
The badger's habitat is very extensive. It is known that over two million years ago the common badger got to Europe from China.
Badger and man
There are cases when in some countries the meat of badgers was used as food. The meat tastes very much like jerky lamb. Badger fat, according to Wikipedia, is a valuable medicine.
Watch the video about the badger:
Badger is a serious beast
Badger- a strong and clumsy beast. His body is wide, with short neck... The head is small, with short legs. The feet of the paws are bare, with strong claws. When walking, he steps on the entire foot. The muzzle is elongated with narrow eyes and small ears. Strong teeth are stronger than many predators. The length of the body reaches about 80 cm, the length of the tail is up to 25 cm, it is thickened at the base. Under the tail are a transverse fold of fat and glands with an odorous liquid. There is a thick layer of fat under the skin. The weight of an adult male reaches 35 kg. The females are smaller. The weight of a badger depends on its nutrition and the season. In spring, badgers are thin, and in autumn they are so eaten up that they cannot run fast. The fat layer reaches 4-5 cm by the end of autumn. The sides and back are covered with long silvery-gray bristles. Hair reaches 7-8 cm in length. The thickest hair is on the back of the back. The shades are different. The upper body is gray with gray hair, the lower body and neck are brown or black. The tail is light gray. The fur is beautiful, but commercial value does not have. The head is usually light, with black stripes on the sides. It is almost impossible to confuse a badger with another animal due to its color.
Badger- an omnivorous animal; belongs to the weasel family. And therefore, the habits and tastes of representatives of this family are characteristic of him. The badger is interested in different smells, and he pays a lot of attention to them. Due to the fact that the badger eats the snake, the viper's poison does not affect it. He loves delicacies processed cheese, honey. It feeds on field mice, moles, and shrews. Eats young hares, grouse chicks, wood grouses, hazel grouses, their eggs, mollusks, worms, frogs. It is believed that from hunger it can attack goats and sheep. Will not give up larvae and adult insects. Eats decomposed meat, carrion, and may even eat its own kind. Along with this, he will calmly dine on potato tubers, berries, mushrooms, acorns, nuts, and some cereals. Eat melons, watermelons, fruits with appetite. Will not be lost from hunger! In spring, summer and autumn it needs water.
The badger lives everywhere. Its range extends from west to east from the coast Baltic Sea to the coast The Pacific... But on the very coast of the Pacific Ocean it does not exist, just as it does not exist at the North Pole and on Sakhalin. The northern border of badger habitat runs from North Karelia, lower reaches Northern Dvina, the lower reaches of the Ob and to the mouth of the Amur. To the south, the tracks of a badger lead to the shores of the Black Sea and to the Crimea. The range of the badger has not been fully studied, especially the extreme northern point. Today, Lake Imandra, located between 67 and 68 °, can be considered the extreme northern point of the badger's habitat. north latitude... The further east you go, the more the badger's range goes down to the south. V Arkhangelsk region it does not occur north of Shenkursk, slightly passes 60 ° north latitude. V Perm Territory it does not rise above 52 ° north latitude.
Well, if about personal, then a badger lives and in my dacha, in Smolensk region... They did not expect? Like this.
The badger settles in different locations: in the forest; steppes, mountains, plains. More often along ravines, near water, less often - among bushes and in the thick of the forest. It digs holes in the steppe, and in the mountains - along the slopes of gorges. Leads night image life. For the winter (in central regions from November to March) hibernates and wakes up only in the spring, approximately when the woodcock begins its craving. The estrus and mating occur, according to various sources, at different times, but the embryos, being in a latent state for about three months, develop with a delay, but are born in March-April. I'll clarify: in the north - in April, in the south - in March. Pregnancy lasts 280-376 days. Badgers are born small, weighing 15 g, 13 cm long (without tail) from one to
six in one litter, but more often twins are born. They are covered with white fur. They become clear on the 33-38th day. A few days after the birth of the badgers, the mating of the parents occurs again. By autumn, young badgers grow up and go to their burrows. Puberty they have a third year of life. The badger sheds once a year.
The badger lives in a burrow. It has several exits, several floors (maximum three floors) and various interior tricky rooms. The burrow can go deep under the roots of trees, in some places it reaches a depth of 5-10 m at the exit hole.
The badger is clean. On a trodden path 10-15 m long he goes to the toilet in the same place. A badger and a fox cannot live together. He doesn't like fox filthiness. The badger leaves, and the fox often drives the badger out of the hole in this way, shitting "under his nose".
The badger loves to slide down the hill on the fifth point, and in general this beast with a "sense of humor", understandable only to him alone, and with a serious character. Not inferior to either the dog or the hunter.
Badger hunting with burrowing dogs
Burrow dogs are capable specialists in pulling various animals out of burrows: foxes, raccoons, etc. These are fox terriers, dachshunds, game terriers. I will not write about these dogs, enough different literature has been written about them, I myself have a yagdterrier bitch. She has that love, that hatred comes to hysteria. Brave, decisive, or rather, "reckless": if anything, it enters into the head ... His will not miss. They are also called "disposable dogs" - they often die because of their unbridled determination. In a word, a "clothespin" - clings to a stick or an animal and hangs, does not unhook. And dives! With your head! All these dogs are good hunting assistants.
The badger is probably the only burrowing animal that poses a danger to burrowing dogs. The first rule for a hunter to let his dog into a hole is to remove the collar from it. There are many different roots, for which the collar can catch the dog and die. Take the badger in the hole for the dog
pretty hard. He does not leave the hole and fights there to the last. There are times when he drives the dog out of the hole, rushing after it and getting shot, but most often the badger prefers to die, but not leave.
The badger goes to various tricks, defends his home by all methods available to him. If the burrow is dug in sandy soil, he builds a barrier between himself and the dog, quickly working with his paws, building an embankment at a speed of about one meter per hour, falling asleep to the dog's eyes. If the burrow is made in solid ground, the badger runs from the dog along the corridor and eventually takes up a deep defense. Very often, being "pressed against the wall", the badger goes ahead, bites into the dog with its sharp teeth and, throwing it, runs past the dog into a free corridor to run further there.
Hunters lower a branch into closed places, and if the badger is there, then he must grab it with his teeth. In addition, the badger knows his transitions "like the back of his hand." Can run around the dog from behind and bury it. Then the dog is doomed to death. Rescuing a dog, hunters, focusing on barking, tear off the dogs buried in a badger hole. And sometimes you have to dig about five meters deep, and this is if the direction of tearing was chosen correctly. If not, you have to dig from the very beginning, again ... In addition, a badger burrow can have two floors, or even more. Having fallen to one floor, the dog is unable to climb the barrier dug by the badger and dies if the hunters do not come to its aid.
Don't forget about the badger's sharp and strong teeth! He uses them at the earliest opportunity. Dogs also die from the teeth of a badger. The most terrible enemy for them is an old and lonely badger. At the first opportunity, the hunter should come to the rescue of the dog. It is impossible to smoke a badger out of the hole. He would rather choke on the smoke, but he won't come out. Moreover, a badger can erect a wall between itself and the smoke, and if the hole allows, then plug the hole with its back, thus saving itself from the smoke. Very rarely, an animal jumps out from the smoke to the surface even in those cases when the smoke caught it unexpectedly and in an unsuitable place for shelter. If the badger escapes, then it will never come to this hole, or it will not return soon.
Hunting for a badger at the burrow with dogs
This hunt is interesting and exciting. A hunter with huskies, shortly before sunset, approaches the badger's burrow. He does this carefully, trying not to make noise, and, not reaching a burrow of three hundred meters, hides, waiting for twilight. Of the weasel family, the badger is the most cautious animal. It is better for the hunters to position themselves so that the wind blows on the hunters, and not vice versa. When it gets dark, the hunters come to the hole. By this time, the badger will already come out of the hole and go about its nightly business. He does not go far. The territory of its bypass is about half a kilometer. This is in the summer, when there is a lot of food. In times of famine, the distance the badger leaves from the burrow is about five kilometers. Hunters let the dogs down on the trail and close the holes or bury them so that in the event of a retreat, the badger does not immediately slip into the hole. As soon as the dogs find the badger, they bark at it. Very experienced dogs strangle the badger, but basically they are required to find the animal, bark at it and detain it until the hunters arrive. Usually a badger snuggles up against a tree, against a stone and takes up defense. If the dogs are passive, the animal itself sometimes goes on the attack, chasing the dogs 10-15 meters. And he can seriously injure the dog, bite her paw. The most important thing for a badger is to get away from the dogs in time. A space where there is a slope, a badger can overcome head over heels. He will strive to continue moving towards the hole - if not to the main entrance, then at least to the spare one - in order to hide there. The hunters shine a lantern on the found badger and shoot, trying not to hit the dogs. Sometimes they use a sharp pitchfork-like slingshot instead of a gun, but somehow I don’t like it! If the badger was not found in the evening, then you can try to find it in the morning when it returns to the hole. If the hunters know the place where the animal is often, then the hounding with dogs can be done in this place, and the dogs can be completely different, even ordinary "royal mongrels". If only they barked and somehow attacked. Sometimes a badger can appear from a burrow in the daytime, there have been such cases. Perhaps someone disturbed him in the hole or he has some urgent business that cannot be left overnight.
Hunting for a badger at a burrow without dogs
You can hunt a badger near the burrow without dogs. Also, before sunset, when the animal comes out of the hole, and early in the morning, when it returns to the hole, hunters hide near the hole, so that the wind does not carry the smell of a man to the animal. The best thing is to conduct such a hunt on a bright moonlit night, when the burrow is more or less visible. Usually the best spot is behind the main entrance to the burrow. The space in front of her should be clearly visible. This is necessary in order to have time to make several shots at the badger until he disappears into his home. You should wait a bit for the badger to come out, look around and, not finding anything suspicious, move 15-20 steps away from the hole. You can use a flashlight attached to a gun or a laser sight. The flashlight turns on and a shot is fired at the badger. Sometimes hunters set up a fence in front of the burrow, behind which they hide. You can arrange a storage shed on a tree near the hole on the leeward side to make it comfortable to sit. It is necessary to sit in it in advance. Do not smoke or make any noise. The best cartridges for this kind of hunting are those loaded with buckshot. The badger is strong on the wound.
Badger hunting with traps
To hunt a badger, traps must be carefully processed and masked. The badger trap must be very strong. Desirable number 5. It is better if the trap is two-spring, frame, its striking area is larger than that of a plate trap. Traps are set at the exit from the burrow, on the paths, on the path leading to the "toilet", in the toilet itself, on the slope of the mountain, from which the badger rolls on its bottom. You can put bait near the trap. But traps must be tied so that the badger does not drag them into the hole. It is worth recalling once again that the badger is a very cautious animal. If he senses a trap, he can dig it out, bury it, lower it empty, dig a new exit from the hole, or use those exits where traps do not stand.
You now already know that the consistency of a badger is that, being a clean animal, he visits the toilet in the same place. Of course, it is not entirely ethical to trap an animal caught in such an intimate place and for such a purely hidden activity, but what can you do ... Personally, I would not want to be in the place of a badger at this moment. Typically, badger toilets are found within a radius of 15 meters to 1 kilometer. Some argue that the badger toilet is not 15 meters away, but not closer than 100 meters from the burrow. But this is not the most important thing, you can still find a toilet! If it is located closer, then, perhaps, the badger simply "did not report", and its nearest toilet is something like a "chamber pot" so as not to go far. The toilet is a cauldron-like depression 20-25 cm in diameter and 10-12 cm deep. There is only one path to it. And there you can set traps, worrying only because a badger, going to the toilet and getting into a trap, out of surprise and such hunting impudence can "give out everything on the spot." But let it be on the hunter's conscience.
Other hunters set traps under the very hill from which the animal rolls down. Oh, how many who want to spoil the badger's happy moments! Moreover, in order to upset the beast more, you need to put two traps down the hill, you can even three. All of them should be tied and located 40-50 cm from each other, so as not to get confused during work. The badger first falls into one trap, begins to rush, and falls into the next. The result is that the unfortunate badger cannot move, trapped on all sides by traps. It's a pity for the poor fellow, but - you like to ride down the hill, look where you come! What a sad story!
Many hunters do not know how to lower traps that the animal did not fall into. Shove a stick into it, and then pull it out? Experienced hunters do just that. Raise the trap by the chain and hit it on the ground or on a tree! The trap slams shut.
Badger fat
Badger fat is a valuable medicinal product. It is widely used in the official and folk medicine more than 200 years as a highly effective, natural therapeutic and prophylactic drug. When taken orally, it is completely, 100% absorbed in the blood, enriching it with vitamins - A, B2, B5, B 6, B | 2, R, PP, tocopherol, carotenoids, folic acid, microelements and organic acids necessary for the body. When you take badger fat inside, protein metabolism is enhanced, immunity is strengthened, and hematopoiesis improves. Badger fat has a bactericidal effect on tubercle bacilli. The secretory activity of the stomach and intestines is normalized, the emotional tone is increased. Purulent wounds are extinguished, and the body goes to recovery. Badger fat is almost a panacea for many serious illnesses: pulmonary tuberculosis, chronic bronchitis (including the ailments of smokers), darkening in the lungs, general exhaustion of the body, the initial stages of silicosis, some types of asthma, atherosclerosis, stomach and duodenal ulcers. Incidentally, it increases sexual potency.
It is recommended to pour the badger fat with a decoction (infusion) of rose hips or St. John's wort flowers. In the absence of an allergy to honey, it is advisable to mix badger fat, slightly heat it (in a mushy state) with floral bee honey in a volume ratio of 3: 1, for example, 210 ml of badger fat and 70 ml of honey. Or, in the same ratio, you can mix badger fat with blackcurrant jam, especially for children who are advised to pour badger fat with warm milk. It is advisable to take badger fat three times a day, for two weeks, 30-40 minutes before breakfast, then in the afternoon, and at night - 2-3 hours after dinner, a tablespoon for adults, and for children, depending on age - dessert or teaspoon. For children, you can rub the chest, shoulder blades at night, rub into the soles of the feet for any colds. Badger fat is useful and healthy people for prevention.
Nature seemed to take special care to ensure that badger it was convenient to dig burrows with long tunnels underground, giving him a squat body, a narrow head on a short thick neck and broad, muscular legs with long blunt claws.
The badger belongs to the weasel family, although in appearance it does not look like its dexterous, agile relatives. It is a medium-sized animal: body length 60–80 cm, tail 15–20 cm. An adult badger weighs from 10 to 34 kg, but its weight varies greatly depending on the season.
The badger is a typical burrow well adapted to digging: thanks to its massive, squat body, narrow cone-shaped head on a short thick neck, short tail he moves easily in earthen tunnels. And wide, muscular legs with long, blunt claws are an excellent tool for excavation work.
Digging holes is a badger calling. Therefore, he settles in places that are ideal for this: on the slopes of ravines and river terraces, on the shores of lakes and other uneven terrain. Often he arranges for himself a dwelling in artificial embankments.
You cannot call a badger an egoist: many animals find shelter in its holes, primarily foxes and raccoon dogs. Sometimes in the old ramified badger holes even wolves live.
A badger's burrow rarely has only 1–2 exits, only young growth digs such simple dwellings. Usually this excellent digger lays a whole system of underground labyrinths with numerous passages and exits. Such a hole has existed for decades, and many generations of animals are diligently renovating it, clearing it, adding new exits, chambers and snags.
The inhabited badger dwelling cannot be compared with separately standing house, and with the whole city - no wonder 8 people call it a settlement.
Badger paw prints. On a slow pace, the hind footprint does not completely cover the front footprint.
Where badgers are not disturbed, the settlement grows widely - up to 1 hectare. Badger is a careful beast: on hunting area he has several holes, and he does not always return for a day in the one that he left in the evening.
In summer, it does not stay in the same burrow for more than 2–3 days. However, under the ground, the badger feels completely safe and does not mask the hole outside.
He spends almost all his day in the darkness of the dungeon, which, of course, does not strengthen his health. Therefore, interrupting daytime sleep, the animal often gets out in the sun - to sit or lie down near the burrow.
Badger usually walks slowly, waddling. And when he hunts, he takes a small, hasty step - jogging. Nothing will make this beast go into a gallop, not even the pursuing dogs.
The badger is a careful and intelligent animal. Hunting for him is difficult due to the peculiarities of the life of this animal. Only lovers of burrowing dogs and old professional hunters who "have" their own, for long years studied lands. The author of the article is not among the fans of badger hunting, but like any Siberian associated with the taiga since his youth, he studied this subject in practice.
A little about the badger
This rather powerful animal belongs to the weasel family, but in no way resembles many graceful representatives of this family. The genus Badger includes a single species - Meles meles - common badger. There are three subspecies, two of which live on the territory of Russia. With its appearance and lifestyle, the badger, rather, resembles a bear. Such features of his life include the fact that for the winter this animal hibernates, being a representative of the Predatory squad, it feeds on a variety of plant food... And with its coarse hair and rich underfur, it is closer to a bear than to a sable. On the forepaws of the animal there are strong long claws that help it dig holes and dig up food.
It is a burrowing animal. The badger is predominantly nocturnal. It goes out to feed in the evening and returns to the hole in the morning. Badger burrowing towns are real engineering structures... He digs them on the slopes of hills or ravines, choosing dry places. They are used by badgers from year to year, are expanding, and populated by new generations. The old snakes are gradually leaving the animals, and they are populated by other animals. The badger is a very clean animal, the holes are kept in perfect order, and fleas and ticks are gradually bred in the old ones. This is one of the reasons for the construction of new passages and leaving the old ones for the tenants. The badger arranges a toilet in one place, at a distance of about 100 meters from the house. Old badgers, having extensive foraging grounds, can build temporary burrows for daytime rest, these shelters are of shallow depth, the animal does not stay in them for more than two days, it always returns to the nesting hole. Perennial burrow settlements are multilevel labyrinths, the nesting chamber can be located at a depth of 4-5 meters. Knowledge of the biology of this beast will tell you how to correctly build hunting tactics.
The badger is very clean, he does not like dampness and rainy weather... He will definitely bypass the puddles on the trail. It can wait out the bad weather in the burrow for 2-3 days, but after the rain it comes out to feed earlier than usual. Before the onset of bad weather, it feeds actively and longer. In late autumn, before bedding, the badger also starts feeding earlier.
Timing of hunting for a badger
According to the rules of hunting in the territory of the Russian Federation, hunting for a badger opens from August 15 and continues until the end of October for its bedding for the winter. Hunting rules prohibit the destruction of burrows except for digging small pits in dead-end ridges when hunting with burrowing dogs. Shotgun hunting and badger trap fishing do not differ in terms of timing.
Hunting methods with a gun
Traditionally, badger hunting in the fall is subdivided into rifle and trap hunting. They can often be combined. According to the methods of gun hunting, three methods can be distinguished:
- hunting with a burrowing dog;
- hunting at night from the approach;
- hunting from behind.
Badger hunting with burrowing dogs
This kind of hunting is the most interesting for most sports hunters. Raising a good burrowing dog, training it, and then hunting a badger in a pair with a four-legged assistant is a gamble. Usually, dachshunds or some types of terriers are used for such hunts. The most top scores on a badger in jagdterriers. When working on a badger, a dog should not be too vicious, you should not train it to grip. It is quite enough that she will find the badger in the hole, bother him and drive him into a dead-end tunnel. Next, the hunter comes into play.
First of all, you need to find a living hole.... Knowledge of the area, advice from old-timers and gamekeepers will help with this. The fact that an animal lives in the hole will be indicated by traces, emissions of fresh earth, a working toilet, which are easy to find near each burrow site. It is better to hunt on nesting burrows, since temporary daytime burrows may not be visited by a badger long time... It is ideal to observe the burrow for several days in order to establish the mode of life of the inhabitants. With such hunts, it is imperative to take with you an excavation tool, an ax, and a trap will not be superfluous.
The inhabited burrow must be examined, it is better to block emergency exits, plug something up. The dog runs into the hole, where he finds a badger and barks at him. Usually the animal tries to get away from the dog along the lateral branches, and does not go deeper into the hole. By sounds it is easy to determine where the dog and the animal met. After making sure that the prey is driven into one of the dead ends, you can dig a hole into a hole.
The hole digs behind the dog and, in no case, behind or above the badger. Wrong actions can provoke him to throw at the dog, to try to leave through it. This can lead to injury and injury.
After the burrow has been excavated, the dog is removed from it and the animal is killed with a shot in the head. In the final stage of the hunt, you need to be very careful, since the animal may try to jump out immediately after the dog, rush and even injure the hunter. A badger in ordinary life is not aggressive, but it is a powerful animal armed with strong teeth. In a desperate situation, he can cripple the dog and cause serious injury to a person. If the badger is deep, and the correct shot is impossible, a trap can come in handy. It is installed in a dug hole and then different ways scare the beast away. Hunting in burrows with a dog is very similar to an exciting quest.
Hunting with a husky approach
One of the most common ways to hunt badgers is to hunt on the surface. It is based on the possibility of meeting a badger returning to the burrow after feeding or immediately after it leaves the burrow. It's night time. The best helper in this case will be a husky. Without a dog, such a hunt is doomed to failure. They approach burrowing towns ahead of time in the evening and with the onset of dusk, when the badger has already left, they approach the burrows and release the dog in search. The badger at this time is not far from the house. The tactic of such a hunt is that the animal found by the dog tries to return and hide in the hole. This option must be foreseen, to block the visible burrows. When the beast approaches, it is blinded with a flashlight and shot. Another option is when the dog has found a badger and is holding him. It may be an old hardened beast hoping to fend off annoying pursuit. In this case, you need to rush to help the dog. The main thing in such hunts is composure and accuracy of the shot, because there is a dog nearby. Many hunters in such cases use a spear, pinning the beast with it, and pin it with a dagger.
Hunting from a blind spot
The main way of hunting is with a gun. It can be applied in well-studied areas, well-known burrowing towns and high animal densities. Arranges have been arranged since the summer. This is either a storage shed in a tree, or huts in the thickets. Object - burrow exits, packed, constantly used trails. This method requires great endurance and flawless camouflage. Possessing good sense, the badger should not detect ambushes. The weapon in this case is used with an underbarrel flashlight or laser designator. The best time- clear moonlit nights... The ambush itself is arranged behind the exit from the burrow or somewhat at an angle. Hunting requires the utmost attention and exertion of all senses. It is better to shoot the animal by letting it go 1.5 - 2 meters away from the burrow. If less, he can dive into the hole wounded, if more, he can have time to hide in the thicket. And picking up a wounded animal at night is very difficult.
Trap method
Badger hunting with traps is the most effective. This is explained by the fact that badger settlements are known to experienced hunters, they have been inhabited for many years. The zealous owners of the land always try to preserve both the burrow and the population of the animal in it. Burrowing dog is a luxury not available to everyone, especially to the villagers. Owners of huskies prefer to hunt another animal. And an experienced trap by the end of autumn is always with prey. This is already a fishery for the sake of valuable badger fat, meat and strong skin.
The main rule in catching a badger with traps is maximum disguise guns... This also applies to removing extraneous odors and camouflaging on the ground. The trap is prepared carefully. New ones are washed from grease, preferably not with gasoline. One of the main carriers of odor on metal is rust, it must also be carefully removed. special formulations... The old hunters always removed the protective grease by heating the trap and wiping it with paper, sawdust and ash, and then boiled it down. Rust is removed with sandpaper and the same sand. This is followed by the digestion of fishing gear in special solutions that give them a forest smell. It can be needles, wormwood, whiteheads and other natural fragrances. It is better to store traps ready for equipment outside the house, in a canvas bag. It is necessary to work with them with clean gloves. Many hunters simply rub their palms with whatever smelly herbs are on hand. The main thing is to avoid the smell of sweat.
The trap should be masked with the means at hand that are right there. Wide leaves, thin grass. It is possible to use clean colored napkins. Any coating, especially napkins, is additionally masked with powder. As an effective dusting powder, many people use meat and bone meal, which additionally masks the smell. You can apply dry soil mixed with badger excrement. Since traps are set on trails, it is often necessary to remove some of the soil from under the implement to level it with the trail. In this case, the land should not be thrown right there, it should be carried to the side. Many experts advise using a piece of meat as well. But it serves as a distraction rather than a traditional trap.
Trap installation location - on the trail... Usually they choose the path to the toilet, it is most often used by the animal. It is advisable to choose a place two-thirds of the way from the burrow, but it all depends on the camouflage features of the terrain. It is not worth putting in grooves and hollows, moisture can accumulate there after rain, as already noted, the badger does not like dirt. To improve the result, it is recommended to install an additional trap next to the trail. When it hits the main trap, the badger starts spinning and falls into the additional one. In any case, the main trap must be supplied with a trap, and not fixed dead to a tree. A fresh log with a diameter of 5-7 cm and a length of at least 1 meter is most often used as a trap. Instinctively, the animal will try to hide in a hole, the hunter will not let him do this. Fastening tightly can have the opposite effect - the badger will break free. An additional trap can be fixed and dead.
Two types of traps are applicable - arc traps for capturing the limb of the animal and passing traps of the pressing type, which are designed to capture by the head or across the body. An arc trap can be used with both a plate-type guard and a simo-type guard. Considering the small area of the animal's paw, the simulated alert is more effective. Hunting with walk-through traps is much more effective, but the process of setting and camouflaging itself is much more complicated. Besides, modern trend the humanization of hunting requires replacing the barbaric methods of trapping animals. Let's leave this on the conscience of the Green Party. The badger foot is small, and the strong, muscular legs do not have pronounced thickenings in the joints. This circumstance sometimes helps the beast to free the limb from the grip. This will not happen with the use of a passing trap.
The difficulty in setting up such a trap lies in the choice of location. It can be either a bush passage or a path through thick grass. The trap is a kind of collar. It is installed vertically, securing the springs with small pegs. The trap rope is attached to the trap and is also masked. The alert itself is a simulated version, but it works not on the foot, but on the head of the animal. The trap grabs the badger by the neck with a sharp blow, which is much more effective and more humane.
Weapons and equipment
The badger can be hunted with any weapon. But given that it hunts at night, the best way- smoothbore gun and buckshot cartridges. With a gun equipped with an underbarrel directional light, the hunting efficiency increases many times over. It is possible to use hunting rifled carbines with 5.56 cartridge and laser sight. But such a weapon is not available to many. It is also possible to use small-caliber ring-fire weapons with a special bullet in areas where it is not prohibited.
Arc-type traps are used nos. 3-5. Trap # 3 is best used only as an additional or as an option to support burrowing hunting. Particular attention should be paid to the tightness of the arcs closing, the strength of the springs. It is better to convert the hoverboard to a SIM card. Pressure traps are used with a "passage" size of at least 250 mm - KP-250 and KP-320, smaller sizes are not effective. Such traps are very prey if you know how to set them.
The common badger (Meles meles) is of considerable interest among all carnivorous animal of the forest Ukraine. In terms of size, it is the largest representative of the marten family (body length up to 90 cm). His appearance and differs from the rest of the species of this family by its peculiar constitution. The common badger is a sturdy animal with a squat clumsy body, rear part which is thicker than the front. The head is elongated, the neck is short, the auricles are rounded. The badger's muzzle is quite sharp. The limbs are short, but very massive, plantigrade, armed with long wide non-retractable claws, which are perfectly adapted to digging the soil. Without much difficulty, the common badger digs deep holes for itself, and in search of food it easily breaks rotten stumps, digs roots out of the soil. The tail of badgers is short - it does not exceed the length of the head. Of the senses, the best developed are the sense of smell and hearing. Hairline long, coarse, long awn and soft short undercoat.
The color of the common badger is two-colored: the back and sides of the body are brownish-gray, the belly is black-brown. The upper part of the muzzle and the area around the muzzle, forehead, cheeks and tops of the ears are white. On the sides of the head there are two black wide stripes that start in front of the eyes and pass through the eyes and ears to the back of the head, where they gradually merge with the brownish coloring of the back. The tail is whitish.
Where does the badger live?
The common badger is a fairly common animal in the forests of Ukraine, but we almost never meet it. Badgers lead a very secret lifestyle. These are nocturnal animals, during the day they are usually in a deep burrow and only in the evening, after sunset, they go hunting. Badgers are common in the forest and forest-steppe zone, the forests of the Crimea, in Carpathian mountains, where they reach the border of the subalpine belt. They live in dry forests, overgrown with small forests, shrubs and grass, mainly on the edges, rugged ravines and slopes, on which they dig holes for themselves. V highlands common badger is most often found in spruce and tall-stemmed beech forests, in ravines between rocks, among heaps of boulders. Avoids areas where the level groundwater high, which is not suitable for digging holes.
What does a badger eat?
The common badger belongs to predators, but it is an omnivorous animal. It feeds on a wide variety of foods, which vary in composition depending on the season. In summer, the basis of the diet of the common badger is made up of insects, their larvae, small ones, rodents, terrestrial mollusks, frogs and lizards. In addition, they are in a large number consume roots and succulent stems of herbs, acorns, nuts, mushrooms and berries. In the fall, they willingly eat on agricultural land, 
consume hemp seeds, peas, corn heads and potatoes ripening there.
Nora badger
Unlike all other mustelids, badgers are excellent diggers. Their burrows are often dug on the slopes of hills, springs, especially if they are covered with dense undergrowth or have a very developed grass cover, where badgers skillfully mask the entrance holes into the burrow. The burrows of the common badger always have a complex structure. It is a labyrinth with wide and deep passages, which sometimes has more than a dozen exits and entrances. Usually, one or two carefully trampled passages lead to a depth of two to three meters, where at a distance of more than 8 m from the entrance, the badger arranges its housing, well lining it with dry leaves. Although badgers usually rest in a burrow during the day, in summer they often spend the day somewhere in the thick of bushes on the surface of the earth.
Reproduction
If there are safe places in the habitat (dark, dense forests), the badger often goes hunting during the day, long before sunset. Mating in common badgers occurs in the spring, but babies are born only the next year, after a long pregnancy (284-450 days). Newborn babies (three to five in the litter) are blind and frail, slowly developing. After two months, they begin to emerge from the burrow. They feed on their own from the age of three months. After that, they grow rapidly and in the fall do not differ much from their parents. 
Hibernation badger
At the end of November, and in the mountainous regions of the Carpathians, in the second half of October, the common badger, unlike other mustelids, goes into hibernation. He sleeps poorly, often wakes up and can even come to the surface of the earth in the middle of winter, on warm days of temporary thaws. Near the inlet of the burrow, on the thaw snow cover the badger left clear traces of its feet, on which the prints of bare soles, toes and claws, which resemble the tracks of a bear cub, are expressively outlined. Before going into hibernation, the common badger feeds on a lot of fat, the reserves of which enable it to exist during a long winter sleep.
The meaning of badgers
Destroying a huge number of forest pests, especially May beetles and their larvae, mouse-like rodents, badgers are very useful for forestry... Known facts, when 318 May beetle larvae were found in the stomach of one badger. Badger fur has no particular industrial value, but fat does. healing properties and is used in folk medicine. At least in southern regions In Ukraine, badgers sometimes harm corn crops, vineyards and melons, but this harm, compared with their useful activities, is so insignificant that they should be considered useful animals that deserve all kinds of protection.
The secret life of an ordinary badger was filmed documentary... Video cameras were installed in the holes of the badgers, thanks to which we can get acquainted with these interesting animals in more detail.
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