118 THE LIVING ANIMALS OF THE WORLD 
setshire farmer had 
a pointer and sheep- 
dog which were 
adepts at this night 
catching of badgers. 
They would accom- 
pany their master 
along the roads, and 
the pointer instantly 
winded any badger 
which had crossed. 
Both dogs then 
bounded off, and soon 
their loud barking 
showed that they had 
found and “held up” 
the badger. The dogs’ 
owner then came up, 
picked the badger up 
[Wishaw, N.B. by its tail, and drop- 
ped it in a sack. The 
badger’s “earth” is 
wonderfully deep and winding; in it the badger sleeps during the winter, and gives birth to its 
young, three or four of which are produced at a time. The end of March is the period of birth, 
but the cubs do not come out until June. In October they are full-grown. The badger carries 
in a great quantity of fern and grass as a bed for its cubs. Mr. Trevor-Battye writes: “I had a 
pair which were probably about six weeks old. They were called Gripper and Nancy. They 
would rest on my lap when feeding, and sit up and beg like dogs. Their hearing and power of 
scent were remarkable. The badgers were in a closed yard; but if any of the dogs came near, 
even following a path which ran at a distance of six or seven yards, they would instantly jump 
off my lap and disappear into 
a corner. The animals could 
walk and trot backwards with 
the greatest ease.” I have 
never seen this noticed else- 
where, yet it is worth men- 
tioning, because it is char- 
acteristic of the Weasel 
Family, not being shared, 
to my knowledge, by any 
other mammal—not, for in- 
stance, by the Bears. 
Mr. A. E. Pease says of 
the badger: “It is easily 
domesticated, and if brought 
up by hand is found an in- j 7 
teresting and charming com- ee 
panion. I had at one time Photo by ‘A. S. Rudland & Sons 
two that I could do anything RATEL 
with, and which followed me 
so closely that they would 
Photo by C. Reid) i: : 
: A BADGER IN THE WATER 
They are nocturnal animals 
Ratels are curiously restless little animals, with a peculiar trot-like walk 
