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January
Badgers are less active and
spend more and more time underground due to the colder weather and less
food being available. Sows are pregnant and some may give birth. Bedding
may be seen being aired outside sett entrances. |
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February
Most pregnant females give
birth to between one and five cubs. Mating also increases in this month
and boar badgers range more widely over their own and neighbouring group
territories looking for females to mate with. |
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March
Badger activity increases as
weather becomes milder and more food is available. This leads to a
dramatic increase in the numbers of badgers killed on the roads in the
spring months. Cubs are still completely dependant on their mothers. |
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April
Spring is in full swing and
food supplies are plentiful again. Badger cubs are now exploring the
sett entrance and may emerge, tempted by the multitude of new scents and
sounds outside. The sow is protective over her cubs and makes sure they
stay close to the sett. |
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May
May is a good
time to start watching badgers. The weather is warmer and badgers are
beginning to emerge in daylight. Cubs are now three to four months old
and come above ground to explore around the sett and to play with
other badgers. |
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June
By
the end of June many cubs are weaned and should know their way around
the sett. They are now confident enough to forage with other cubs, other
members of the group, or by themselves. In June, badgers often sleep in
day nests above ground.
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July
Prolonged
dry weather can have a serious impact on badgers. Deaths may occur
through starvation and through increased road traffic accidents. Badgers
can be seen foraging in the daytime. Cubs are half the weight of their
parents and growing fast.
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August
Badgers spend
a lot of time digging and extending their setts. The diet at this time
of year includes cereal crops. |
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September
Late summer
and autumn bring additional food sources, including cereals such as
wheat, oats and barley, and fruits including blackberries, windfall
apples, wild cherries and acorns. |
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October
Badgers are
feasting on fruits and other food to put on fat reserves for the winter.
Badgers also prepare their setts by excavating tunnels and by bringing
in fresh bedding material, such as grass and leaves. |
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November
From
November, watching badgers can get more difficult, as the times when
they emerge from their setts becomes more erratic. Although badgers do
not hibernate, their activity is reduced as food becomes harder to find. |
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December
Badgers sleep
longer and deeper. The lull in activity coincides with an important
phase in the badger's reproductive cycle. Sows can mate at any time of
year but it is not until winter that the embryos implant in the womb and
start growing. This is called delayed implantation.
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