Text and trail camera clips Tiit Hunt, www.rmk.ee
Translation Liis
Estonian text published 19.10.2017
The badger is a cool creature, never mind that he has surrendered the title of Animal of the Year to the roe deer. It makes no difference to him and he gets on with his own life as ever.
He has guests and some tend to arrive without notice when the owner of the burrow is not even at home himself. He keeps busy, tidies both himself and his home. Socializes, sleeps, sniffs fresh air and enjoys the sun even if it was sparingly offered this summer.
Without letting myself be disturbed by the Animal of the Year change, I took a look at the everyday life of badgers this summer too. It may be said, as a half-joke, that the forest inhabitants too have adapted to technical progress and show no resentment towards the trail cameras of forest people, researchers and all and sundry that allow us a valuable insight into their everyday, much needed from the conservation aspect.
This summer I made closer acquaintance with the badgers in Rapla, Pärnu and Lääne-Viru counties who have built their homes in very different landscapes – while the representatives of the species in Pärnu county chose almost unsurpassable thickets for their burrows then the homes of their Lääne-Viru colleagues were established in much more open environments.
The tendency as noted last year of the Estonian badgers and their
Nevertheless enough busy badgers came into camera view
.
And when the cat– or badger in this case – is away the mice play, as well known, and so all sorts of furry and feathered visitors arrived: mice, bats, rats, birds, roe kids with their mother, a young elk, foxes, raccoon dogs and dogs.
