WILD SPORTS OF THE HIGHLANDS 



To return to the badger, and his food. One of his most 

 favourite repasts is the contents of the nest of the wasp or 

 wild bee, great numbers of which he must destroy. How- 

 ever far under ground the hive may be, and in however 

 strong and difficult a situation, he digs them up, and de- 

 pending on his roughcoatandlonghairasaprotectionfrom 

 theirstings, devours comb, larvae, honey, and insects. Many 

 a wasps' nest I have found dug up in this way, and often 

 far from the badger's usual abode; but the tracks of the an- 

 imal always made it evident who had been the robber. 



The badger is easily tamed, and will (if taken young and 

 well used)become much attached tohis master. When first 

 caught, their efforts to escape showa degree of strength and 

 ingenuity which is quite wonderful, digging and tearing at 

 their prison with the strength of a rhinoceros. When first 

 imprisoned, if looked at, he immediately rolls himself up 

 into a ball and remains quite motionless. As soon as the 

 coast is clear again, he continues his attempts to escape ; 

 but if unsuccessful, he soon becomes contented in his con- 

 finement. I one day found a badger not much hurt in a trap. 

 Tying a rope to his hind leg, I drove him home before me, 

 as a man drives a pig, but with much less trouble, for he 

 made no attempts to escape, but trotted quietly ahead, only 

 occasionally showing a natural inclination to bolt off the 

 main path whenever he passed any diverging road, all of 

 which were probably familiar haunts of the unlucky beast. 

 When at home I put him into a paved court, where I 

 thought he could not possibly escape. The next morning, 

 however, he was gone; having displaced a stone that I 

 thought him quite incapable of moving, and then digging 



396 



