Badger Hygiene

With lock down in full force I have had extra time to spend on my patch of land. I have moved one of my cameras to look at the nearby Badger sett.

I am pleased to say that it seems they have had two cubs this year,

There are at least 3 adults.

One of the more interesting aspects of behaviour observed is that of cleaning, especially apt at this time of hygiene awareness.

Badgers are well known for keeping a tidy home, they will replace bedding regularly and ensure they use communal latrine pits well away from the sett.

Personally they love nothing more than a good scratch. In a group setting a clan of badgers will reinforce relationships with mutual grooming in this case however this is a solo effort.

The following video shows a single badger, possibly a female, scratching for a good minute and a half,

The grooming shown is clearly not to make the fur smarter as the badger is incredibly dusty when it finishes, it is in fact entirely focused on removing unwanted guests on the skin and in the fur.

Badgers like all mammals suffer from a range of parasites chief among which are Biting Lice (Trichodectes melis), these are not normally a problem unless the individual is ill or weakened. Badgers are also prone to fleas, Paraceras melis, and hedgehog and mole flea species. The last major parasite is the Tick, these are common in all mammals and are normally sheep ticks although in this case the lack of sheep in the area is likely to mean any ticks in this clan come from deer.

As you can see the scratching is quite thorough and the individual seems to enjoy it. We all love a good scratch after all.