Urban habitat

Nocturnal visitors. This particular photo was taken during the summer of this year (2001), probably in June and July. I was getting very worried that I hadn't seen young badgers as I normally see them at the end of May or beginning of June. I'd just come back from holiday and was sitting out the back, when these two came along. The narrow face indicates that this is a female badger and her baby is just behind her, I managed to lean over the fence and snap this shot as they trotted past.
Photo by Bob Carden

There are lots of badgers in the Brighton area and many people may have this protected animal in their gardens. They tend to settle down anywhere there is a bit of wild countryside. They don’t normally set up home in flat fields preferring instead places where they can build their sets without having to dig too deeply, like the side of a hill.

A good haunt
Cemeteries are often a good haunt for badgers as they can settle in crypts or dig down into where people are buried, and they have even been known to disturb bones in the process. Railway embankments are also good sites, but unfortunately this often results in badger fatalities on the rail tracks.

Personal interest
My own interest in badgers and wildlife photography goes back about 10 years. It all started when one hot summer I was watching the foxes at the back of our garden which backs onto a hill. There didn’t seem to be much for them to find, so I started putting out scraps left over at the end of each day from the café my wife owned.

Feeding time
One night a badger came down the track right past where I was standing. He walked past the food by the back gate and then sort of did a retake and came back to have another look. He then disappeared up the path and about ten minutes later he came along again, but this time bringing his entire family, and from then on they have been coming to the back gate every night. There is not a night that they don’t get fed, if I’m late home or go out early, they always get provided for.

Comments about this page

  • How interesting and what a lovely photo of the mother badger and youngsters!

    By Christine Callender (26/01/2004)
  • Great photo! For more information and photos of badgers, check out Badgers on the web at http://www.badgers.org.uk

    By Steve (01/05/2004)
  • As a local amateur historian, it gives me immense pleasure to be able to comment on to this web site. I write regular articles on local history in the North Portslade Community News. Unfortunately, because I am the Mayor, I have to use my pen name of ‘Cyclops’ so as not to appear to political. May I wish the project every success. It is extremely important to get as much as possible down for perpetuity.

    By Councillor Bob Carden Mayor of Brighton -Hove (08/03/2006)
  • Hi, I was looking for information online about badgers as I work in a cemetery (in Brighton) and we are having a few problems with them at the moment. I love wildlife and wouldn’t want the badgers in the cemetery to be harmed, however they are digging underneath graves and making them unstable and I am concerned that they may end up being buried if we fill in the hole made by them. From what I have read, digging in cemetaries and removing a lot of earth seems like normal behaviour for them. The cemetery manager has been alerted by the people that own the grave, who understandably don’t want their relative’s remains dug up, but we are not sure that he will do anything. Is there any way that a badger can perhaps be located to another site where it will be safer? What would you think would be the best way to deal with it? Obviously we would need someone who knew what they were doing to do this. Stone slabs and concrete may be put in the new hole made but I would hate to think we were burying badger pups. I hope you will write back,

    Many thanks,

    By Jenny (14/04/2009)

Add a comment about this page

Your email address will not be published.