Busy at Badger city

Several different badgers can be seen moving large bundles of bedding (balls of what seems to be mainly long grass) down into the burrows of their sets. 

There should be cubs underground somewhere at this time and so perhaps this activity is to do with keeping them warm and dry. The nights are still very cold.

Here are some short sections of film showing this activity.

in this second clip - a rare sighting of a working badger and a supervisor.....

This badger heads to a different hole in the ground with his ball of bedding.

And d finally a roe deer passing through the woodlands near to the badger set.

Why Animal Cultures Matter

 A new paper has just come out which explains not only why animal cultures matter but also how to integrate this into conservation action. 

You can find the paper here: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2020.2718

And here is an excellent summary diagram from the paper. 

#animalculturesmatter

Deer Parade

 

The sun is setting and this little roe buck - loosing his shaggy winter coat - is gently grazing and he is close to the spot where I first spotted the deer this time last year. It was some weeks into the first lock-down in the UK and I was wondering in the local countryside (we were allowed out for one hour of exercise) and I became aware of something coming along the edge of a field. I had no idea that there were local deer and since them I have been quietly enjoying spying on them! 

Nearby there is a procession of deer - both the muntjacs and the roe deer passing across the same area within a few minute of each other. 

Above - roe buck and roe doe - at this time of year his antler are still covered in velvet. 

Night and Day somewhere in the woods.

It's busy in the woods this Springtime - both by day and night: the roebuck is grazing and the badger doing some major refurbishment. Happy Easter/Spring Holiday.