Badgers are increasing in many parts of England. They are nocturnal animals.
The Ferret-badgers from the East have elongated bodies and short tails. They are tree-climbers, and as omnivorous as the badger itself. The Cape Zorilla, with another species found in Egypt, is more nearly allied to the polecats, but is striped like a skunk.
Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co.] [Parson's Green.
EUROPEAN BADGER.
Badgers can be readily kept in confinement, and are not difficult to tame thoroughly.
The European Badger is still fairly numerous. There is not a county in England where it is not found. A large colony has been established in Epping Forest, some fifty yards square of hillside being honeycombed with badger-earths. The European badger is found all over temperate Northern Europe and Asia; but being shy, wary, and mainly nocturnal, is seldom seen. At night it wanders about, and in August gets into the corn-fields, whence it is chased and caught by dogs. A Somersetshire farmer had a pointer and sheep-dog which were adepts at this night-catching of badgers. They would accompany their master along the roads, and the pointer instantly winded any badger which had crossed. Both dogs then bounded off, and soon their loud barking showed that they had found and "held up" the badger. The dogs' owner then came up, picked the badger up by its tail, and dropped it in a sack. The badger's "earth" is wonderfully deep and winding; in it the badger sleeps during the winter, and gives birth to its young, three or four of which are produced at a time. The end of March is the period of birth, but the cubs do not come out until June. In October they are full-grown. The badger carries in a great quantity of fern and grass as a bed for its cubs. Mr. Trevor-Battye writes: "I had a pair which were probably about six weeks old. They were called Gripper and Nancy. They would rest on my lap when feeding, and sit up and beg like dogs. Their hearing and power of scent were remarkable. The badgers were in a closed yard; but if any of the dogs came near, even following a path which ran at a distance of six or seven yards, they would instantly jump off my lap and disappear into a corner. The animals could walk and trot backwards with the greatest ease." I have never seen this noticed elsewhere, yet it is worth mentioning, because it is characteristic of the Weasel Family, not being shared, to my knowledge, by any other mammal—not, for instance, by the Bears.
Mr. A. E. Pease says of the badger: "It is easily domesticated, and if brought up by hand is found an interesting and charming companion. I had at one time two that I could do anything with, and which followed me so closely that they would bump against my boots each step I took, and come and snuggle in under my coat when I sat down."
The Ratels.
As the mink is adapted for an aquatic diet, so the Ratels, a link between the Weasels and the Badgers, seem to have been specialised to live upon insects and honey as well as flesh. They are quaint creatures, with rounded iron-grey backs, and black bellies, noses, and feet. The African kind is found in Cape Colony and East Africa, and is believed to live largely on honey and bee-brood. The habits of the ratel are almost identical with those of the badger, except that it is less shy and very restless. A nearly similar species of ratel is found in Southern Asia from the Caspian to India.