How good is a badger's eyesight?

[Dorts]

I don't think it's at all possible for us to imagine the sense of smell a badger , fox or dog has. If you look at a badgers skull, the nasal passages are honeycombed in dozens of tiny airways, all full of olfactory receptors, literally millions of them.
Such animals can detect smells we don't even know exist.

I've been testing one of our two Giant Schnauzers. Like most dogs, I can pick up a stone, throw it and she will find it no problem. Our car-parking area is covered in small slate-chippings. I can pick up a piece not much bigger than a grain of rice, barely touching it, throw it 15 yards away and 9 times out of 10 she'll find it.

So a badger would have no problem in total darkness following one of its well-trodden paths by use of scent alone.
Some of these woodland badger paths, which of course are also used by other mammals such as deer, foxes, rabbits etc. have been in use for hundreds, and possibly in some cases for thousands of years. It may be that in the case of badgers, some other means of navigation could also come into play.

Just diverging slightly, I often wonder, when looking at paths well used by cattle or sheep, why if there is a slight kink or deviation in the path, these animals will blindly follow these deviations, often for generations.
Could it be that some of our older country lanes that seem to meander aimlessly through the countryside, were originally such paths, made by ancient herds of cattle and horses?
Very possible.
Dorts.

[nightshade]

The farm in Devon/Cornwall we used to holiday on for about 10 years, had regular Badger tracks, some of which crossed fields. I thought this was unusual but it turned out it was, of course, all woodland at one time.
The trees were gone but they still followed the ancient tracks.
Having been campers for many years, (now caravanners) it was not unusual to see Badgers on the campsites, especially after rain as they looked for worms, they were cautious but not overly so and even went under some caravans but avoided those with dogs. I often met them when I had to get up in the small hours and they were aware of me because I came upon them suddenly. If I was careful I could stand and watch for ages. It was a camp site where my wife saw her first Badger (Slapton)

[Brock Gray]

Most Latrines are found on borders and tend to be an indicator of the territory boundary rather than indicator of an aspect within a boundary, and are often used by neighboring clans. The ones within a territory tend to be smaller with up to half the amount of droppings. Badger will tend to place a latrine near a landmark; it could be a road, a woodland edge, hedgerow, fence, old telegraph pole, or a wicket gate.

The importance of maize should not be overestimated, although there may be more occurrence of maize in a badger’s diet, as show in droppings, the overall volume may not be significant.

Badgers have scent glands in their feet, the constant trampling along a path may well reinforce a scent along it; interesting as this may tell a badger where other clan members have gone and when. I have a couple of video clips from my trail cam of a badger digitally scenting a tree – one of which is very obvious. Maybe badgers have evolved ‘smelly feet’ to help them get about? Paths are regularly squat marked too, something which is not as apparent to the eye as a dung pit. I think Dogghound makes some sense, although I’m no expert.

When approaching trapped badgers their behavior seems to depend on their character, some ignore you and are more interested in trying to dig out, and others stop everything and don’t take their eyes off you. They are quite easy to distract, you can happily sneak up on a badger if it’s, let’s say, looking at someone else waving a leafy twig at it. Some are heavy sleepers, I’ve talked and walked around one badger, inches away, and the big old boar didn’t flinch until he was touched.

[The Woodman]

[quote=Brock Gray;827032]Badgers have scent glands in their feet, the constant trampling along a path may well reinforce a scent along it; interesting as this may tell a badger where other clan members have gone and when. I have a couple of video clips from my trail cam of a badger digitally scenting a tree – one of which is very obvious. Maybe badgers have evolved ‘smelly feet’ to help them get about? Paths are regularly squat marked too, something which is not as apparent to the eye as a dung pit. I think Dogghound makes some sense, although I’m no expert.QUOTE]

Yes, we tend to think as we see things without thinking about squatting and foot scenting. I must admit to not thinking about these aspects. They will undoubtedly assist in navigation.

Interesting thoughts about evolving feet, too. Good points raised, BG.

On the footbridge scenario, I've started looking at it closely. There are old dung pits with nothing recent or fresh. The maize crop appears to be a different strain this year, not as high and the cobs are much slimmer but good foliage for the silage. Just two wagtails on the wire last night but there'll be more yet.

[Burko]

The nature of most tracks is about employing the path of least resistance.
If a tree. boulder, bush, etc is in situ the path will naturally go around it.
Also a track has a general direction, forget about small deviations, if you zone out you'll see that the track is heading 'somewhere', it has a purpose or destination so to speak.

[The Woodman]

A passage from Henry Bestons "The Outermost House" which I find most profound (forgive me)....

"We need another and a wiser and perhaps a more mystical concept of animals. Remote from universal nature, and living by complicated artifice, man in civilisation surveys the creature through the glass of his knowledge and sees thereby a feather magnified and the whole image in distortion. We patronize them for their incompleteness, for their tragic fate of having taken form so far below ourselves. And therin we err, and greatly err. For the animal shall not be measured by man. In a world older and more complete than ours they move fisihed and complete, gifted with extensions of the senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear. They are not brethren, they are not underlings; they are other nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow prisoners of the splendour and travail of the earth."

[wilippa]

[quote=The Woodman;827355]A passage from Henry Bestons "The Outermost House" which I find most profound (forgive me)....

/QUOTE]

You are forgiven. It is indeed profound!