BADGER 



The Badger is not often seen by day, and I was decidedly 

 pleased when I had succeeded in taking the accompanying photo- 

 graph. I secured it on one of the Welsh hills, quite close to 

 an ancient stronghold of this animal. In this small wood there 

 are large mounds of earth scratched out by these energetic diggers, 

 for a Badger's ' earth ' is an enormous burrow in fact, it might 

 almost be likened to a cave. Usually this has only one entrance, 

 and then the hole branches out into several underground passages. 

 The chief apartment is warmly lined with grass and bracken, 

 and a cosy and well-protected place it is for the young. The 

 latter are born about the middle or end of March, and great 

 preparation is made for the youngsters. The old bed, which has 

 been the sleeping-place of the parents during the winter, is cleared 

 out, the whole interior is cleaned, and an almost phenomenal 

 quantity of fresh grass is carried in. 



About the end of May the young first venture outside their 

 home, and soon learn to find their own food. I have seen them 

 at night, running about the rocks, and peering in rabbit burrows, 

 and sniffing the ground as though they were following up a scent 

 like a hound might do. 



Farmers do not seem to mind the Badger, who is almost 

 harmless as far as they are concerned, when compared with the 

 Fox. The two, however, are often close neighbours, and one 

 suffers for the depredations of the other. I have already 

 mentioned what a powerful digger this animal is, and he will 

 in a very few minutes dig a hole large enough to hide in. In 

 digging, the fore-feet are used to displace the earth, while with 

 the hind-feet it is pushed out behind. 



Like the Cat, the Badger is fond of scratching trees, and in 

 one of their haunts I saw some of the trees almost stripped of the 

 bark at their base. In this celebrated haunt, on one of the most 

 famous Welsh hills, I saw enormous mounds of earth that the 



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