GROUP OF THE BADGERS. 



215 



badger spends the day, and he leaves it only 

 with great caution on the advent of night. In 

 very silent and lonely places he may be seen 

 going out by day to warm himself in the sun. 

 Often the fox annoys him, but in most cases 

 he cedes to him part of his dwelling, retiring 

 himself to the deepest 

 part of his chamber. 



In southern lands, on 

 the shores of the Mediter- 

 ranean, for example, the 

 badger remains active the 

 whole year round, but fur- 

 ther north he passes the 

 winter asleep. This sleep, 

 however, is never very 

 profound, and fine mild 

 days very easily awake 

 the sleeper. During this 

 sleep the badger becomes 

 very lean. On the first 

 sunny day of spring he 

 goes out hungry in search 

 of food. He takes what 

 nature can offer him. In 

 Siberia he is so entirely 

 carnivorous that he at- 

 tacks even the herds of 

 cattle in order to slay 

 calves. In Germany he 

 hunts in spring for mice, rats, moles, nests of 

 ants and humble-bees, going about grunting 

 like a pig, and turning up the earth with his 

 snout. He thereby makes himself useful in 

 destroying a number of subterranean insect 

 larva;, caterpillars, worms, and snails. Eggs 

 and small birds which make their nests on the 

 ground are devoured by him just as readily as 

 lizards, serpents, toads, and underground fungi. 

 Truffles and other fungi, as well as a few juicy 

 roots, are eaten as accompaniments to the 

 staple of his meal. To the stings of ants and 

 humble-bees he pays little heed, shaking these 

 assailants off with a grunt. On the approach 

 of autumn the badger becomes more herbiv- 

 orous, and grows fatter and fatter every day. 



Fig. 109. The Telagon (.Wydaus Tciagott}. page 216 



Fruits of all kinds, starchy tubers, sweet 

 bunches of grapes and currants, and the like, 

 are then more sought after than mice; but if 

 these or young hares or partridges fall in his 

 way, then he eats up with pleasure the dainty 

 with which fortune has provided him. 



The breeding season 

 occurs in October, when 

 his table is most abun- 

 dantly supplied. The 

 hermit then changes his 

 habits for a few weeks, 

 and follows the precepts 

 of civic law in offering 

 a suitable home to his 

 spouse. But this common 

 housekeeping does not 

 last long. The couples 

 separate from bed and 

 board in order to hold the 

 usual winter-sleep. In 

 the beginning of March 

 the female gives birth to 

 from three to five blind 

 young ones, which she 

 tenderly nurses by means 

 of three pairs of teats, one 

 on the breast, and two 

 others on the abdomen. 

 In order to maintain the 

 cleanliness so dear to the badger the female 

 digs out a retired chamber beside that in 

 which they live, and accustoms her young 

 ones to make use of this for the satisfaction 

 of their needs. The invention of the earth- 

 closet free from smell has accordingly been 

 made by the badger. The female supports 

 her young for a long time after the weaning, 

 bringing in worms, snails, honey, fruits, and 

 roots for them. Towards autumn the young 

 badgers leave the maternal habitation in 

 order to set themselves up as hermits on their 

 own account. 



The badger, as already mentioned, is 

 cautious. It quits its hole only after it has 

 sniffed and carefully examined the neighbour- 



