They are usually seen alone. It is Scotland’s largest surviving carnivore and is a confident nocturnal forager with a rolling gait and an individual can make quite a lot of noise ranging from grunts and snorts to an eerie yelp.
A badger cannot be mistaken for any other creature, with a head showing distinctive black and white stripes.
Discover more about the Badger
When to see
Badgers can be seen all year round. They are active at night and will be rarely seen in the daytime except in exceptionally hot weather, when animals will rest on the surface. They live in an extensive underground communal tunnel and nest chamber system called a sett. They emerge at sunset and can take quite a time to actually leave the entrance tunnel. Young badgers play in and around the sett in late spring and early summer. In winter when the weather is cold or inclement, animals can sleep in for periods of several days.
Where to see
A badger lives an independent life and is not very sociable as an adult. They are often most easily seen in the evening near to a sett, which is very obvious with multiple tunnel entrances with earth carefully spread away from them. A badger is a creature of routine and uses the same paths regularly. It is omnivorous, but feeds mostly on earthworms that come to the surface on grassland at night.
Did you know?
Badgers are strictly protected from human disturbance, particularly in the ground around a sett. Their wholesale culling may soon be authorised by the Government. They are blamed for the spread of Bovine Tuberculosis in cattle, yet TB is an anerobic bacillus and persists in the soil and could be just as easily carried by a mole or a bank vole.
When to see
Badgers can be seen all year round. They are active at night and will be rarely seen in the daytime except in exceptionally hot weather, when animals will rest on the surface. They live in an extensive underground communal tunnel and nest chamber system called a sett. They emerge at sunset and can take quite a time to actually leave the entrance tunnel. Young badgers play in and around the sett in late spring and early summer. In winter when the weather is cold or inclement, animals can sleep in for periods of several days.
Where to see
A badger lives an independent life and is not very sociable as an adult. They are often most easily seen in the evening near to a sett, which is very obvious with multiple tunnel entrances with earth carefully spread away from them. A badger is a creature of routine and uses the same paths regularly. It is omnivorous, but feeds mostly on earthworms that come to the surface on grassland at night.
Did you know?
Badgers are strictly protected from human disturbance, particularly in the ground around a sett. Their wholesale culling may soon be authorised by the Government. They are blamed for the spread of Bovine Tuberculosis in cattle, yet TB is an anerobic bacillus and persists in the soil and could be just as easily carried by a mole or a bank vole.
When to see
Badgers can be seen all year round. They are active at night and will be rarely seen in the daytime except in exceptionally hot weather, when animals will rest on the surface. They live in an extensive underground communal tunnel and nest chamber system called a sett. They emerge at sunset and can take quite a time to actually leave the entrance tunnel. Young badgers play in and around the sett in late spring and early summer. In winter when the weather is cold or inclement, animals can sleep in for periods of several days.
Where to see
A badger lives an independent life and is not very sociable as an adult. They are often most easily seen in the evening near to a sett, which is very obvious with multiple tunnel entrances with earth carefully spread away from them. A badger is a creature of routine and uses the same paths regularly. It is omnivorous, but feeds mostly on earthworms that come to the surface on grassland at night.
Did you know?
Badgers are strictly protected from human disturbance, particularly in the ground around a sett. Their wholesale culling may soon be authorised by the Government. They are blamed for the spread of Bovine Tuberculosis in cattle, yet TB is an anerobic bacillus and persists in the soil and could be just as easily carried by a mole or a bank vole.
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Registered Company No: 303299 | Registered address: Wild Scotland, Suite 212, 8 Church Street, Inverness IV1 1EA