European Badger: a two-minute wildlife lesson

Weasels and Badgers · day 3 of 7

Five facts

1. A badger sett can have anywhere from a few to fifty exits.
2. Badgers are very tidy. On sunny winter mornings they may drag their bedding outside, then bring it back in later that day.
3. European badgers are the most sociable badgers: groups average six adults, and up to 23 individuals have been recorded.
4. Badgers belong to the carnivorans, but they eat plants too: earthworms, big insects, small mammals, carrion, cereals and roots like tubers.
5. A badger weighs 7-13 kg in spring but swells to 15-17 kg by autumn, before its winter sleep.

The quiz

1. How many exits can one badger sett have?

• Always exactly two
• Never more than five
• From a few to fifty (correct)
• Over a thousand

A single sett may have just a few exits or as many as fifty.

2. What may badgers do with their bedding on sunny winter mornings?

• Take it outside and bring it back later (correct)
• Burn it
• Bury it for good
• Swap it with neighbours

On sunny winter mornings they may put their bedding outside and fetch it back later that day.

3. How many adults does an average European badger group have?

• Two
• Twenty-three
• Fifty
• Six (correct)

Groups average six adults, and up to 23 individuals have been recorded.

4. What kind of eater is the European badger, really?

• A strict plant eater
• An omnivore (correct)
• A strict meat eater
• An insect-only eater

It is classed as a carnivoran, but it eats both plants and animals.

5. How heavy can a badger get by autumn?

• 7-13 kg
• 2-4 kg
• 15-17 kg (correct)
• 40-45 kg

It swells to 15-17 kg in autumn before the winter sleep.

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