170 



THE BEASTS OF PREY. 



chambers and conduits, while the Badger is content 

 in the lower ones. 



Habits and The movements of the Badger are slow 

 Food of and lazy, its walk is clumsy and its most 



the Badger. ra pJd trot is so slow that it is believed 

 a good pedestrian can overtake it. The animal's 

 appearance is so strange that it is often misleading. 

 At first sight of it one is reminded of a Pig rather 

 than a Beast of Prey, and I think that in order to 

 identify it positively one has need to be fairly famil- 

 iar with its shape and habits. The grunting noise it 

 makes is very suggestive of the Pig. 



During the spring and summer its food consists of 

 roots, insects. Snails and Rain-worms ; also, occasion- 

 ally, young Hares, eggs and young birds. It is very 

 expert in digging out Rain-worms with its sharp, 

 long claws, which it uses likewise in searching for 

 the larvae of the May-bug and other destructive in- 

 sects, which live in the ground, in fields and mead- 

 ows. It also digs up Humble-bees' and Wasps' nests, 



tribe and does not damage, but helps to preserve, a 

 forest. A forester who exterminates it sins against 

 himself and works detriment to the forest which is 

 in his care. 

 Hibernation At the end of autumn the Badger is well 

 of the fattened. Then it thinks of the coming 

 Badger. winter, which it intends to spend as 

 comfortably as possible, and, therefore, makes its 

 preparations to that end. It carries leaves and grass 

 into its hole and makes a thick, warm bed. Until 

 the approach of cold weather, it lives upon the pro- 

 visions it has garnered. Then it curls up, lying on 

 its stomach, puts its nose between its fore-paws and 

 goes to sleep. The hibernation is irregular, like 

 that of the Bear. If the cold is not intense, espe- 

 cially if a thaw comes, or there are mild nights, it 

 rouses itself, and sometimes leaves its hole to drink. 

 If the weather is relatively warm, it transiently 

 sallies forth as early as January or February to dig 

 out roots, or, if fortune smiles on it, to catch a 



THE COMMON BADGER. This animal, found in nearly all Europe and a large part of Asia, has a thick, gray fur on its back and sides, 



dark brown underneath, and a white face with black stripes, as shown in the picture. It is as clumsy as it looks, but is famous for the carefully 

 constructed burrows it scoops out with the sharp, curved claws shown in the illustration. (Meles taxus.) 



delighting in the honey-combs and caring little for 

 the stings of the angry owners, protected as it is by 

 its rough fur, a thick hide and a goodly layer of fat. 

 Snails, and possibly Butterflies and Caterpillars, are 

 picked from trees and eaten with relish. 



In autumn it rejects such food as acorns, etc., but 

 enjoys fallen fruit, carrots and turnips ; nor does it 

 disdain small quadrupeds, such as Mice, Moles, etc., 

 and Lizards, Frogs and snakes are welcome additions 

 to its bill of fare. Sometimes it ravages vineyards, 

 compressing the ripe fruit with its paws and reveling 

 in enjoyment of this relish. Very rarely it steals 

 young Ducks and Geese from farms lying near for- 

 ests ; for it is exceedingly shy and distrustful, and 

 leaves its abode only when it feels sure it will not 

 be observed. Frequently it feeds upon the carcasses 

 of animals it finds dead. On the whole, it eats little 

 and its winter provisions do not amount to a very 

 large store. The Badger does not cause any per- 

 ceptible damage in Europe ; or when it may do so, 

 it always amply compensates for it by catching and 

 eating all kinds of vermin that infest the forests and 

 fields. It is the most useful member of the Weasel 



Mouse. Still, fasting does not agree with it, and at 

 the approach of spring its roundness has disappeared 

 and its appearance is nearly that of a skeleton; but 

 after the period of hibernation is over it rapidly ac- 

 cumulates flesh and regains its rotundity. 



The Female Toward the close of February, or begin- 

 Badger ning of March, the female Badger gives 



and Young, birth to from three to five blind young, 

 for which a soft bed of moss, leaves, ferns and long 

 grass has been carefully prepared. Of course she 

 lives in her own burrow, for the female Badger is as 

 inveterate a hermit as the male. She loves her little 

 ones tenderly, and, after weaning them, brings them 

 worms, roots and small animals, until they are able 

 to provide for themselves. Three or four weeks later 

 the small and pretty animals appear at the mouth of 

 the hole and bask in the rays of the sun. They are 

 very playful and afford a pleasing spectacle, the 

 more so as one rarely has the chance of seeing it. 

 They remain with their mother till autumn, when 

 they leave her and undertake to cater for themselves. 

 They are fully grown in the second year and may 

 attain an age of ten or twelve years. 



