Eurasian Badger (Meles meles)
This species of badger lives in Europe and Asia, and is highly popular in England. In a way, it’s the British version of the American raccoon, getting into people’s gardens and trash cans and whatnot (rubbish bins, I think they’d call them), only the badger seems to be much more beloved than the raccoon. People actually try to attract them to their gardens, and it’s illegal, in the UK, to kill a badger or to disturb a badger’s sett, which is an underground burrow where a group of badgers lives. Each group or clan is made up of about 12 badgers. They’re very gregarious mammals.
Here’s a website where you can listen to a variety of different sounds that badgers make and read what each sound signifies.
(Yesterday was Ted‘s birthday, so I took the day off from mammals to celebrate!)
In England we have killed off most of our larger wild animals, either through ignorance and prejudice or just plain disregard ( Road Kill for example ). It is important to recognise the importance of each one of the animals we co-exist with as an intrinsic wealth which once depleted, is a tragic loss. Lets hope we can change tack and learn a better way of existence before it is to late. If an animal infringes on the human habitat it is considered as vermin which to say the least is strange as it is we who are exhausting natural spaces with an insane disregard. Maybe, just maybe if we can stem this current trend for self-destruct seemingly inherent to our human condition, we can save not only these charming and beautiful animal but ourselves also.
You’re right—it really overwhelms me sometimes, the way we’ve overtaken and are still overtaking other creatures’ habitats. I hope that more people will begin to see things the way you do, Adam.