European Badgers

We do not know what the badger gets its name from, but we do have a couple of ideas. Some people think that the ‘badge’ part refers to the white mark on their head, and others think that it comes from the French word ‘bêcheur’ which means digger. They also used to be called ‘earth dogs’ in Ireland, and in Wales they are called ‘mochyn daear’ meaning earth pig.

Badgers are omnivores, meaning they eat animals and plants. Worms are their favourite and they eat lots of them, but they also eat insects, fruit, small mammals, and cereals (not shreddies). Sometimes they will eat slugs, fungi, grass, and birds too.

Badgers dig burrows called ‘setts’ and these are often large and complex. They even pass down their setts from generation to generation! Sometimes more than one family can live in a sett too, making them even bigger.

They are very particular about their setts and like to keep it clean, they change their bedding and even have toilets they dig outside.

Badgers are nocturnal which means they come out at night and sleep during the day and live in groups with about six adults and their cubs.

Badgers have claws that they use to dig, hunt, and groom their friends. They also like to play by chasing each other and play fighting.