VIDEOS: Family life and experiences

Submitted by Looduskalender EN on Wed, 05.09.2018 - 13:33
Autorid

Videos recorded by  Fleur, LK forum
English translation Liis

 

Estonian text posted 31.08.2018

 

Body

 

Badger        Mäger        Meles meles

 

The offspring of the badger family this year should be about five months old. The female teaches the cubs behaviour and experiences that she herself has gathered over the years. She is busy with the cubs most often in early evening and ever more often they go on discovery trips together.

The family is back in the badger sett from the summer holiday, only the old male has not shown up yet. In daytime he may hide in a rock heap in a field or hay meadow, or put otherwise, be keeping closer to the food because the fattening-up time must be used actively. Badgers love oats, but the grain has already been harvested from the oat fields.

They set out for the evening foraging in the evening too (see the lower video). The feeding tour starts on well-known paths near the sett that are quite easy to see for those who move in nature. On their hunting trips badgers will not pursue anyone; they feed on what is easily obtainable. During the summer drought period finding earthworms was complicated but the rains bring one of the favourite foods of badgers to the soil surface for the night. Mice nests, and the nests of wasps and bumblebees that happen to be on their path are dug open. For the fattening up plenty of herbal food is eaten: with the rains forest berries such as blueberries and cowberries have grown bigger; from hazelnut groves nuts are sought, mushrooms have appeared … The orchards of abandoned farms and rarely visited summer houses are frequently checked because there every day more food appears…

So the badger gets ready for an evening tour. The fur put in order, sand is cleaned out, then it is time to sniff what the nearby smells tell. After that one has to listen attentively for where something might be happening and set a plan for the foraging tour…

The badgers do not stray around the whole night, in between they pause to take a nap and the tour is finished in the morning twilight.

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