Posted by the Animal of the Year team 29.08.2016
The cavorting of the Soosaare badgers went on in the past week too. In the video at 0:15 one of the many noises that badgers can produce is heard. There seems to be only one badger cub from this year judging from the video records seen so far. It is not clear whether the somewhat larger playmate is one of last year’s young or even the badger female herself.
In the video at 0:31 we see the large badger briefly noticed earlier getting out of the burrow. Probably it is the master of the sett. The stout creature has managed to fatten up properly during summer. Its tail seems to be half shorter than that of the others. But the tail is not shorter, the body is simply bulky and fat. Its gait is soft and dignified.
In the middle of the video, at 1:05 we see that a small accident has happened. The badger cub, until now full of frolic, appears in camera view with a limp. Protects right forepaw. We don’t know if the paw was injured at digging or if a game became too rough. On cavorting here among the tree stumps the paw might have got stuck in a crevice and on dragging it out the joint got twisted. For some time quiet is needed, and a little break in the cavorting.
In the last video we se the movements of the injured animal. The right forepaw is quite tender and movement painful. Luckily most of the cub’s food does not run away from it and it should get a full belly even with an injured paw.
