176 THE BADGER. 



their tracks on the 15th of March at the earliest. 

 Generally they are to be seen at the mouth of the 

 earth in March, seldom venturing farther than a 

 few yards till early in April. In May the home 

 den is forsaken, the whole family journeying to 

 a new warren. Sometimes, but not always, the 

 dog and the 'sow' badger remain together the 

 whole year round. 



Badgers are not playful animals, and, except in 

 their cubhood, they seldom frolic, devoting their 

 time to the more important business of nosing for 

 food. The old game of King of the Castle is said 

 to be systematically indulged in by the cubs, even 

 their mother occasionally lending a hand. One of 

 the youngsters mounts a dead tree-stump or a 

 boulder of rock, and from this point of eminence 

 menaces his brothers with naked fangs. The others 

 then set to work to drag him down, attacking from 

 every point of the compass, while the central figure 

 twists and turns, till finally he is dislodged and 

 another scrambles into his place. And so the 

 game goes on during the chilliest hour before the 

 dawn ; but it is a game unlike those of our own 

 little people in that it is played in silence such is 

 the degree of caution instilled into the young by 

 their parents. 



This game is said to be a recognised institution 

 of the badgers, each family having its own ' castle ' 

 and its special little plot laid aside, the ground soon 

 becoming trodden hard and bare of verdure by the 

 beating of active paws. Normally the youngsters 

 just roll each other about, butting at each other 

 and pulling at the loose skin of each other's necks, 

 much like little bears, which they closely resemble 

 in many ways. 



Badgers are good-tempered beasts, and the old 



