Animals Badgers

[Zugzwang]

… and you saw a badger @eb424 - congratulations! Now bears are gone from Britain, you’re looking at a top predator!

 

[eb424]

… and you saw a badger @eb424 - congratulations! Now bears are gone from Britain, you’re looking at a top predator!

My mid life crisis..could be worse..of to see the wolves ..

 

[Nikki]

… and you saw a badger @eb424 - congratulations! Now bears are gone from Britain, you’re looking at a top predator!

A badgers the top predator in Britain. Scary stuff

 

[eb424]

Actually our top killer is.... ( drumroll) the humble cow..honest that..heard it on QI....

 

[Tenor Viol]

A badgers the top predator in Britain. Scary stuff

There have been no bears or wolves in England for well over 400 years. Some wolves have been re-introduced in Scotland I think.

I see badgers round here all the time.

 

[Nikki]

I think the biggest predator in any country is the..... drumroll .....
‘Human.’

 

[eb424]

No need to brag tenorviol...lol.. theres probably a few round here but you'd have to go out specially.. there's a wolf sanctuary in reading but when things are back to normality I'd rather see them wild in Spain or Greece... beautiful country this but we Are a bit slack on the big predator front..

 

[nigeld]

There's the Beast Of Exmoor. 😳

 

[Nikki]

There have been no bears or wolves in England for well over 400 years. Some wolves have been re-introduced in Scotland I think.

I see badgers round here all the time.

It’s amazing what animals that are on the mainlands don’t make it to the islands. I didn’t understand this until we went to Newfoundland and I discovered that they don’t have raccoons. You’d think at some point a baby would sneak on-board a boat and they’d be introduced but they weren’t and because of this they don’t have rabies on the island either. It IS actually impressive.

 

[nigeld]

You’d think at some point a baby would sneak on-board a boat and they’d be introduced but they weren’t

I think two of them would have to sneak on board to make a serious difference. Maybe they are anti-social. Or maybe they get seasick, so they don’t like boats. Or maybe some sneaky islander told them that Newfoundland is full of polar bears.

 

[Nikki]

I think two of them would have to sneak on board to make a serious difference. Maybe they are anti-social. Or maybe they get seasick, so they don’t like boats. Or maybe some sneaky islander told them that Newfoundland is full of polar bears.

Yes you’re right. Either a mating pair or pregnant mom.

Yes! An island full of polar bears that eat them for breakfast. Nooo!
Now THIS is OT! Lol
I’m getting really good at this lately

 

[Ivan]

It’s amazing what animals that are on the mainlands don’t make it to the islands. I didn’t understand this until we went to Newfoundland and I discovered that they don’t have raccoons....

No snakes in Ireland

Though whether that is down to geographical isolationism or the tetchy behaviour of a certain Saint Patrick is open to debate

 

[Greg Strange]

No snakes in Ireland

Though whether that is down to geographical isolationism or the tetchy behaviour of a certain Saint Patrick is open to debate

No snakes in New Zealand...and nothing to do with Saint Patrick...

Greg S.

 

[Pete Thomas]

I’m happy to not have badgers as they are one of the very few hedgehog predators.

 

[rhysonsax]

Loads of badgers where we live on the edge of Surrey and Hampshire. There are signs that some animals are living under two of our sheds, with huge excavations of earth having happened earlier this year and a tunnel disappearing off under the bases. Either foxes or badgers I suppose.

In place of big band rehearsals we have been having weekly quizzes by Zoom and last week one of my questions was "What is the largest land-dwelling wild Carnivore in the UK ?". The official answer for one point was "badger" but there was quite a lot of discussion, confusion and disagreement.

Anyway badgers are mammals, of the Order "Carnivora" but are omnivores and Wikipedia tells us that:

The diet of the Eurasian badger consists largely of earthworms (especially Lumbricus terrestris), insects, grubs, and the eggs and young of ground-nesting birds. They also eat small mammals, amphibians, reptiles and birds, as well as roots and fruit. In Britain, they are the main predator of hedgehogs, which have demonstrably lower populations in areas where badgers are numerous, so much so that hedgehog rescue societies do not release hedgehogs into known badger territories. They are occasional predators of domestic chickens, and are able to break into enclosures that a fox cannot.

Rhys

 

[Nikki]

Oh! I love hedgehogs

 

[Pete Thomas]

Animals - Hedgehogs

We have a hedgehog feeding station: View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOi1xAKdDv8&feature=youtu.be

cafesaxophone.com

 

[Ivan]

We've got lotsa badgers up the wood

They were out in the early evenings a couple of months ago

Little known fact: no bovine TB in Scotland so badgers aren't the farmers enemy up here

 

[BigMartin]

An occasional garden visitor. Pay no attention to that man (and woman) behind the blinds.

 

[Targa]

We've got lotsa badgers up the wood

They were out in the early evenings a couple of months ago

Little known fact: no bovine TB in Scotland so badgers aren't the farmers enemy up here

Bovine TB is spread by cattle, all research points to badgers not being the prime cause. The slaughter of them is merely a convenient political sop to the farming industry. The largest spread of Btb was after the last outbreak of foot and mouth when infected cattle were used to restock in areas were there had been no Btb present.

They are included in the order carnivora due to their dentition.