THE ZOOLOGIST 



No. 750.— December, 1903. 



ON THE GESTATION OF THE BADGER. 



By Alfred Heneage Cocks, M.A. 



The vexed question of the gestation of Meles meles was, I 

 quite thought until this spring, fairly settled by the note of Mr. 



E. G. Meade-Waldo in ' The Zoologist' for 1894; but now 



however, I will relate my recent experiences. 



On March 2nd, 19U2, 'a female Badger was brought to me, 

 together with its pair of cubs, which I judged to be about twenty 

 days old, just dug out in one of the neighbouring woods, the 

 owner of which, sad to say, does all he can to exterminate the 

 species. In hopes of saving their lives, I purchased the three ; 

 but, as was to be expected, the mother killed the cubs during the 

 ensuing night. 



Their principal measurements (in inches) are appended, so 

 that anyone may, from his individual experience, form his own 

 opinion as to their age : — 



The Male. 

 Head 2^ 



Neck and body ...5^ 

 Lf 



Tail 



M 



Total length ...9f 



Elbow to toe, includ- 

 ing nail, If ; hind- 

 foot, including nail, 

 1A '■> breadth of fore 

 foot, f. 



Zool. 4th aer. vol. VII., December, 1903. 



The Female. 

 2 



Central line of head from nose to 

 poll white, gradually blending 

 into the grey of back. The usual 

 black stripes through eyes only 

 grizzled, or (if the term is ad- 

 missible) faint black. Under 

 side devoid of hair, including 

 inner sides of legs. Upper side 

 light grey, only very slightly 

 darker on outer sides of legs. 



2m 



