Badgers live in groups. During the day they stay in the castle, in the evening they come out in search of food. The castle is the home of the badger. The castles have been used for several generations. Some castles are more than a hundred years old:
Marten
The badger is a predator and belongs to the mustelike. All mustelids are predators. The badger belongs to the omnivores, which means that they are omnivores. So both vegetable and animal food.
Habitat
The badger is found in a large part of Europe, and in Asia. The badger also occurs in the Netherlands, but less and less. The badger is more common in the south of Limburg, in the Veluwe and the Maas valley. The badger is also seen in Friesland and in the land of Maas and Waal. In Belgium the badger is most common in Leuven, in Belgian Limburg and in Antwerp.
Castle
The most important characteristic of the badger is the castle. The castle is the home of the badger. The badger digs these itself, under bushes or hedges. The badger digs tunnels that are ten to twenty meters long. The diameter of the corridors is 30 to 40 centimeters. The corridors end in several rooms. Each room is decorated with dried leaves, grass and ferns. The castle has three to ten corridors. The corridors are ten to twenty meters apart. The toilets are made outside the castle. These are shallow pits where the badger deposits the excrement. These toilets are often located on the border of the territory, so that it is a beacon. Two to sometimes 25 badgers live in a castle. Two to five badgers live in each room, depending on the size of the group. The whole territory is about 40 hectares. The castles have been used for several generations. Some castles are more than a hundred years old.
The badger also has several bomb shelters in the form of escape pipes within its territory. Here he shoots in danger.
Behaviour
Badgers live in groups. During the day they stay in the castle, in the evening they come out in search of food. Badgers are less active in winter than in summer. Mating takes place in February to October. Badgers are not monogamous. The gestation period is approximately seven weeks, but can be extended up to ten months. With an extended gestation period, the fetuses do not settle in the uterus until later. The young are born in early spring. They are suckled by the mother for three months.
Badgers take care of each other’s fur. They also make different sounds to each other, by which they can recognize each other and understand what the intention is.
When a badger is dead, he is buried in the castle by his relatives. Sometimes the dead badger is also dragged away to be placed in a special room. This chamber is then covered with sand again.
The badger as a pet
A badger may not be captured and kept as a pet. A badger is a protective animal species. A badger is sometimes confused with a skunk, which is kept as a pet. Anyone who believes that someone else has a badger as a pet, will first have to ask whether this is actually a badger. Sometimes a badger is also confused with a raccoon: an animal that is kept as a pet.
Badger and tree
The das en boom foundation does everything it can to preserve the badger in the Netherlands. They provide solicited and unsolicited advice to, among others, the government about a good living environment for badgers. They catch Uncle Badgers who need it, with the aim of releasing them back into nature. The das en boom foundation can be reached via their website.