Badger encounter

[Jonny]

I was walking to the pub this evening (yes I said walking TO the pub). I had my mp3 stereo headphones plugged in and the music up quite loud. Just as a track finished and a new track was about to start I heard this scratching sound and I thought to myself, thats strange I don't recognise this track, when a badger ran across the road six feet infront of me. The scratching was its claws on the road. Cor it didn't half scare me. I have never seen a badger that close before. It was a youngster and it dived into the hedge besides the road. Well I needed a few pints to get over it................Jon (calmed down now) (but with hiccups now though)




(hic)

[John]

I see that it isn't your first encounter, allthough any encounter with a Badger must be a bit special.

I have only ever seen one Badger and that was a real suprise.

It was last year when I had been spending a couple of days Birdwatching around the Bempton, Flamborough Head area of Yorkshire. I had bedded down for the night in my car by the side of a field near Flamborough Head. I remember listening to a programme on the radio about Cold Play when something caught my eye. It was a very dark night but soon a badger emerged from out of the undergrowth and was snuffling away right by the car.

It didn't stay long and was soon back into the undergrowth but I doubt that I will ever forget that encounter (especially as it is the only one I have ever seen).

John

[digi]

They are a fantastic sight, it angers me when I hear that they may be culled.

[Wild-Woman]

On my way back from Medway estuary I saw a sad sight. Two dead badgers by the roadside. They looked quite young.They don't stand a chance trying to cross a slip road onto the A2. :-( ww

[digi]

Originally Posted by Wild-Woman

On my way back from Medway estuary I saw a sad sight. Two dead badgers by the roadside. They looked quite young.They don't stand a chance trying to cross a slip road onto the A2. :-( ww

I am very suspicious about the number of dead Badgers found dead by the road side I think some are put there after being killed by some other means.

[Wild-Woman]

I must admit there didn't appear to be any seeable damage/blood. Do you think that's what some people are doing then? How awful. ww

[digi]

Originally Posted by Wild-Woman

I must admit there didn't appear to be any seeable damage/blood. Do you think that's what some people are doing then? How awful. ww

Yes I do, as you say in a lot of cases there is no blood or signs of being hit by a car. Last year whilst in Dorset we passed 9 dead badgers by the road side in the space of 2 miles.

[Wild-Woman]

Do you think the council have suspicions about deaths like that when they clear them up?Then again i suppose when they are unceremoniously chucked in the back of a cart destined for the local furnace, nobody would ever find out. I suppose they've been poisoned then. I might stop if I see one and report it to the police. They have wildlife crime officers that should deal with that sort of crime. ww

[digi]

Looking back I wish I had reported those I saw in Dorset last year.

[Alan]

It is often stated that badger baiters or people who don't want badgers on their land - due to unwarented fears of TB, dump carcases at the side of the road to cover up the cause of the real reason the badgers were killed. Although I don't doubt this goes on, if you were involed in the unlawful deaths of badgers, would you really dump them on the side of the road? Wouldn't it be far easier to just hide them away or bury them!

Many animals and birds are found on the road with apparently very little signs of serious injury. It may only take a glancing blow to the head to either kill the animal outright or put it in a serious state of shock or concussion. This left untreated can easily kill the animal. Badgers have very thick coats and a good layer of fat - especially in early winter, which can easily cover serious injuries. Dead badgers on the roads also can be a result of natural dispersal at certain times of the year, and even drought conditions - summer or winter, and it is often the case that you may come accross a quite a few of them in a given period.

Of course all this doesn't mean we need to drop our guard. Any badger road death, suspicious or not, should be reported to your local badger group at least. Find your local group through the NFBG website:

www.badger.org.uk

Badger road accident/death forms can then be downloaded from your local groups website, printed out, filled in and sent to them.

This all helps the cause!