What is this behaviour? - Badgers - 02:00, 07 July 2022 - Essex, UK (1 Viewer)

[ryan11111]

Hi all,

I saw a couple of badgers on an evening walk near my house last week so I decided to set up a trail cam with a few bird peanuts scattered in front to see if they are regularly there. They must have a sett fairly close as my cam has shown 4 adults and 2 cubs passing through this location most nights so I am hoping to find a spot a good distance away and photograph them one evening if possible.

I retrieved the trail camera this morning and found this really interesting behaviour of one of the badgers jumping around and moving backwards scraping the grass (see the attached footage).

I wondered whether anybody here has seen this type of behaviour before and exactly what it is?

I'm wondering if the jumping around is just the badger playing? and the scraping is just the badger foraging?

Thanks in advance!

Ryan

 

[Nigel Davies]

First footage looks like high spirits, the second and third looks like they were dragging dry grass to their sett for bedding.

Nigel

 

[Julie50]

Not sure if your film really shows this, but badgers dig up turf looking for cockchafer grubs Cockchafer Beetles & their Larvae- The RSPB

The badgers damage the grass - but us allotmenters are no fans of the grubs!

 

[Paul Penzance]

The first video looks like this year's cub and it's showing a nervous display when they try to look big. Legs stretched and fur fluffed up.