THE BADGER 35 



they are helping to preserve one of the last of the 

 bigger wild animals that we have left in these 

 Islands. 



(The badger, Meles meles, Linn., is found from 

 Ireland throughout Europe, the eastern limits of its 

 range being unknown. It shows little or no varia- 

 tion in the British Isles, except that an occasional 

 erythristic specimen is met with. In this sport, or 

 mutation, all the parts normally black are a light 

 red-brown, the grey fur becomes pale fawn, and the 

 eyes are pink. I had a fine female of this type that 

 had two normally coloured cubs. 



The Spanish badger is a trifle larger than that of 

 the rest of Europe, and it is also somewhat paler in 

 colour, so this geographical race has received recog- 

 nition as a sub-species of M. meles under the title 

 M. m. marianensis, Graells. 



In Crete is found a rather small badger which 

 Miller ranks as a separate species, giving it the 

 name Meles arcalus, Miller. These comprise the 

 European badgers.) 



