National Badger Day

In less then two weeks time it will be National Badger Day. It is also halfway through the current six week badger cull. Compare that and it makes you realise how important it is to get the message out  for National Badger Day on the 6th of October.

Not only that but it’s so important that we’re celebrating the badger for the animal that it is, nothing political, which is the exact reason for the day.

It shocks me that some kids don’t even know what a badger is and I’ve even had friends that didn’t even know we have badgers in this country. An animal that is a treasure of our landscape and has been for over 400,000 years. Together with being Britain’s largest land carnivore surely it should be considered and  recognised by all. Along with that, hundreds are being killed in a bid to decrease bTb using the tax-payers money, as well as suffering from horrible acts of persecution.

As I mention though, NBD isn’t about focusing on all the bad things they experience but celebrating and making people aware about the creature it really is. On the back of this innocent, beloved species it carries the stigma of being a nuisance and that it should be eradicated from it’s home. Most would agree that this animal just deserves to be left alone from all the killing.

National Badger Day  is a campaign which is being run by The Badger Trust and closer to the date a video will be released, featuring the likes of Chris Packham, Virginia Mckenna, Steve Backshall and more, to be showcased to primary school kids, groups and at events too. Of which are taking place all around the country. Obviously though it’s going to take your help too, doing your part.

One thing I’ll be doing is giving an assembly and showing the film to year 7 & 8’s at the school I go to sixth form at. If you’re still at school, a teacher, a parent (etc) you could do the same. The video includes talk about the badgers ecology, insights of the species from quite a few familiar faces and much more.

You can also get involved by joining an event, getting the word out on social media, get yourself a National Badger Day badge, getting in touch with your local group or whatever else you can think of. Or if you want to take a hands on approach then why not join and support patrols in the field.

Events – http://www.badgerevents.org.uk/

Video trailer – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6E5sng6juA

The final video is around 10 minutes long.

National Badger Day badge – http://shop.badgertrust.org.uk/en/products/badges-stickers/national-badger-day-badge.aspx

Badger cull patrols – https://georgiaswildlifewatch.wordpress.com/2015/09/07/worry-not-do-more/

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Get involved and do something positive for National Badger Day!

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The New Arrivals

As you may have seen from my latest blog last Friday night I filmed some badger cubs at a local sett for the first time this year. The Saturday before I had set my cameras up and there was no sign of any cubs so when I filmed them on the following Friday night that was obviously one of the first times they’d emerged from the sett this year.

I was very pleased with the footage as not only is it extremely cute but it shows a variety of behaviour. From the cubs playing and fighting with each other to a few clips of the adult badgers having a comical scratch. As I didn’t get back from the Badger Trust Seminar until late on Saturday I put my trail camera back up on Sunday evening then collected it before school the next morning. It was great to collect it before school as it was a fantastic start to the day due to it being a beautiful morning, there were swallows about and I was really excited to see what I got on my trail camera!

Once again it was good stuff. This time I’d put the camera lower down so the cubs were much more curious and I managed to get some great footage.

It’s also really interesting to compare my footage to that I got this time last year. A year ago, almost to the day, I filmed three cubs at the same sett so they were a bit later then this year but not much. You can see last years footage by clicking here.

Here’s some of my favourite clips from last weekend –

Twenty First Century Badgers

As I’ve been off for the last two weeks I’ve made the most of it and tried to get out as much as I can. Whether it be on my local patch, nature reserves or setting my trail camera up. Unfortunately I have some important exams approaching so I’ve had to make time to revise for them too.

However a few nights ago I returned back to a badgers sett which I hadn’t filmed at since last Autumn. This time last year I managed to film a few of the adults but it wasn’t until the end of the month when the cubs first appeared. When I collected my trail camera on Sunday morning it was pretty much the same, adults but no cubs yet. I set two cameras up, one of my normal ones that I use and a new one which my Dad has been working on recently. It works through something called a Raspberry Pi, not an actual pie but a type of computer. He then added the camera, motion detector and then printed out a case with his 3D printer. It’s very clever and it was great to try it out for the first time. Unfortunately It didn’t go completely to plan but he’s made some adjustments and we’re going to set it up again soon.

Here’s some of the footage I got. It includes badgers and a tree climbing rat. I hope to film the cubs in the upcoming weeks.