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The Badger in Scotland
CHAPTER XXXI.
The Badger: Antiquity of; Cleanliness; Abode of; Food; Family of-
Trapping Badgers-Anecdotes-Escape of Badger-Anecdotes-Strength
of-Cruelty to.
Amongst the aboriginal inhabitants of our wilder districts, who
are likely to be soon extirpated, we may reckon that ancient,
peaceable, and respectable quadruped, the badger; of an ancient
family he certainly is-the fossil remains which have been
found, prove his race to have been coexistent writh that of the
mammoths and megatheriums which once wandered over our
islands. Though the elk and beaver have long since ceased to
exist amongst us, our friend the brock still continues to burrow
in the solitary and unfrequent recesses of our larger wroods. Persevering and enduring in his everyday life, he appears to have
been equally so, in clinging to existence during the numerous
changes which have passed over the face of the globe since the
first introduction of his family into it. Notwithstanding the persecutions and indignities that he is unjustly doomed to surfer, I
maintain that he is far more respectable in his habits than we
generally consider him to be. u Dirty as a badger," "stinking
as a badger," are two sayings often repeated, but quite inapplicable to him. As far as we can learn of the domestic economy
of this animal when in a state of nature, he is remarkable for
his cleanliness-his extensive burrows are always kept perfectly
clean, and free from all offensive smell; no filth is ever found
about his abode; everything likely to offend his olfactory nerves
is carefully removed. T, once, in the north of Scotland, fell in
with a perfect colony of badgers ; they had taken up their abode
in an unfrequented range of wooded rocks, and appeared to have
been little interrupted in their possession of them. The footpaths to and from their numerous holes were beaten quite hard ;
and what is remarkable and worthy of note, they had different
small pits dug at a certain distance from their abodes, which were
evidently used as receptacles for all offensive filth ; every other
part of their colony was perfectly clean. A solitary badger's
hole, which I once had dug out, during the winter season, presented a curious picture of his domestic and military arrangements-a hard and long job it was for two men to achieve, the
passage here and there turned in a sharp angle round some projecting corners of rock, which he evidently make use of when
attacked, as points of defence, making a stand at any of these
angles, where a dog could not scratch to enlarge the aperture,
and fighting from behind his stone buttress. After tracing out a
long winding passage, the workmen came to two branches in the
hole, each leading to good-sized chambers : in one of these was
stored a considerable quantity of dried grass, rolled up into balls
as large as a man's fist, and evidently intended for food ; in the
other chamber there was a bed of soft dry grass and leaves-the
sole inhabitant was a peculiarly large old dog-badger. Besides
coarse grasses, their food consists of various roots ; amongst
others, I have frequently found about their hole the bulb of the
common wild blue hyacinth. Fruit of all kinds and esculent
vegetables form his repast, and I fear that he must plead guilty
to devouring any small animal that may come in his way, alive
or dead ; though, not being adapted for the chace, or even for
any very skilful strategy of war, I do not suppose that he can do
much in catching an unwounded bird or beast. Eggs are his
delight, and a partridge's nest with seventeen or eighteen eggs
must afford him a fine meal, particularly if he can surprise and
kill the hen-bird also ; snails and worms which he finds above
ground during his nocturnal rambles are likewise included in
his bill of fare. I was one summer evening walking home
from fishing in Loch Ness, and having occasion to fasten up some
part of my tackle, and also expecting to meet my keeper, I sat
down on the shore of the loch. I remained some time, enjoying
the lovely prospect: the perfectly clear and unruffled loch lay
before me, reflecting the northern shore in its quiet water. The
opposite banks consisted, in some parts, of bright green sward,
sloping to the water's edge, and studded with some of the most
beautiful birch-trees in Scotland ; several of the trees spreading
out like the oak, and with their ragged and ancient-looking bark
resembling the cork-tree of Spain-others drooping and weeping
over the edge of the water in the most ladylike and elegant
manner. Parts of the loch were edged in by old lichen-covered
rocks ; while farther on a magnificent scaur of red stone rose
perpendicularly from the water's edge to a very great height.
So clearly was every object on the opposite shore reflected in
the lake below, that it was difficult, nay impossible, to distinguish where the water ended and the land commenced-the
shadow from the reality. The sun was already set, but its rays
still illuminated the sky. It is said that from the sublime
to the ridiculous there is but one step;-and I was just
th0 startled from my reverie by a kind of grunt close to me,
and the apparition of a small waddling grey animal, who was
busily employed in hunting about the grass and stones at the
edge of the loch ; presently another, and another, appeared in a
little grassy glade which ran down to the water's edge, till at
last I saw seven of them busily at work within a few yards of me,
all coming from one direction. It at first struck me that they
were some farmer's pigs taking a distant ramble, but I shortly
saw that they were badgers, come from their fastnesses rather
earlier than usual, tempted by the quiet evening, and by a heavy
summer shower that was just over, and which had brought out
an infinity of large black snails and worms, on which the badgers
were feeding with good appetite. As I was dressed in grey and
sitting on a grey rock, they did not see me, but waddled about,
sometimes close to me ; only now and then as they crossed my
track they showed a slight uneasiness, smelling the ground, and
grunting gently. Presently a very large one, which I took to be
the mother of the rest, stood motionless for a moment listening
with great attention, and then giving a loud grunt, which
seemed perfectly understood by the others, she scuttled away,
followed by the whole lot. I was soon joined by my attendant,
whose approach they had heard long before my less acute ears
gave me warning of his coming. In trapping other vermin in
these woods, we constantlv caught badgers-sometimes several
were found in the traps ; I always regretted this, as my keeper
was most unwilling to spare their lives, and I fancy seldom did so.
His arg'uments were tolerably cogent, I must confess. When I
tried to persuade him that they were quite harmless, he answered
me by asking-." Then why, Sir, have they got such teeth, if they
don't live, like a dog or fox, on flesh ?-and why do they get
caught so often in traps baited with rabbits?" I could not but
admit that they had most carnivorous-looking teeth, and well
adapted to act on the offensive as well as defensive, or to crunch
the bones of any young hare, rabbit, or pheasant that came in
their way. When caught in traps, they never left part of their
foot behind them and so escaped, as foxes and other vermin frequently do; but they display very great strength and dexterity
in drawing up the peg of the trap, and this done, they will carry
off the heaviest trap to an amazing distance, over rock or heather.
They never attempt to enter their hole with a trap dangling to
their foot, but generally lay up in some furze-bush or thicket
on these occasions we invariably found them, by tracking them
with a dog who generally attended the trapper, and which dog
was peculiarly skilful in tracking animals of this kind. Rover
(for that was his name), a strong water-spaniel, was very fond
of, and took great interest in, trapping ; if he accompanied the
keeper when placing his traps overnight, he would often start
alone in the morning to take a survey of them, and either kill
any animal he found captive, or, if he was not very confident of
being the strongest, he would return impatiently for the man,
and, running before him, point out plainly where every head of
vermin was caught. As for getting into a trap himself, he was
far too cunning, but always halting a few yards to leeward of
them, and sniffing the air, would at once know if anything was
caught. If a cat, marten-cat, or any smaller animal was there,,
he at once rushed in and killed it; but he waited for the assistance of his friend the keeper to dispatch any larger animal.
To return to the badger, and his food. One of his most favourite repasts is the contents of the nest of the wasp or wild
bee, great numbers of which he must destroy. However far under
ground the hive may be, and in however strong and difficult a
situation, he digs them up, and, depending on his rough coat and
long hair as a protection from their stings, devours comb,
larvæ, honey, and insects. Many a wasps' nest I have found
dug up in this way, and often far from the badger's usual abode ;
but the tracks of the animal always made it evident who had
been the robber.
The badger is easily tamed, and will (if taken young and well
used) become much attached to his master. When first caught,
their efforts to escape show a degree of strength and ingenuity
which is quite wonderful, digging and tearing at their prison
with the strength of a rhinoceros. When first imprisoned, if
looked at, he immediately rolls himself up into a ball and remains
quite motionless. As soon as the coast is clear again, he continues his attempts to escape ; but if unsuccessful, he soon becomes
contented in his confinement. I one day found a badger not
much hurt in a trap. Tying a rope to his hind leg, I drove him
home before me, as a man drives a pig, but with much less
trouble, for he made no attempts at escape, but trotted quietly
ahead, only occasionally showing a natural inclination to bolt off
the main path whenever he passed any diverging road, all of
which were probably familiar haunts of the unlucky beast.
When at home I put him into a paved court, where I thought he
could not possibly escape. The next morning, however, he was
gone ; having displaced a stone that I thought him quite incapable of moving, and then digging under the wall, he got away.
The badger always puts me in mind of a miniature bear, and
to this family he evidently belongs. His proportions are similar
to those of the bear; his manner of placing his feet on the
ground is like that of a bear, and is very peculiar. Beyond the
marks of his toes, which, five in number, mark the ground in
nearly a straight line, are the impressions of his strong, sharp
nails, apparently unconnected with, and at the distance of an
inch or two from the rest of his track. Those long and powerful
nails are a formidable weapon, and in engagements with dogs he
makes good use of them, inflicting fearful and sometimes fatal
wounds. Though a quiet animal, and generally speaking not
much given to wandering, I have occasionally fallen in with his
unmistakeable track miles from any burrow. His habits are
wholly nocturnal, and it is only in the summer evenings, when
the darkness lasts but a few hours, that he is ever met with
whilst it is light. During winter he not only keeps entirely
within his hole, but fills up the mouth of it to exclude the cold
and any troublesome visitor who might intrude on his slumbers.
Frequently, however, tempted by mild weather in the winter, he
comes out for some good purpose of his own-either to enjoy
the fresh air or to add to his larder; but never does he venture
out in frost or snow. Sometimes I have known a badger leave
the solitude of the woods and take to some drain in the culti
vated country, where he becomes very bold and destructive to
the crops, cutting down wheat and ravaging the gardens in a
surprising manner. One which I know to be now living in this
manner derives great part of his food during the spring from a
rookery, under which he nightly hunts, feeding on the young
rooks that fall from their nests or on the old ones that are shot.
This badger eludes every attempt to trap him. Having more
than once ran narrow risks of this nature, he has become so cunning that no one can catch him. If a dozen baited traps are
set, he manages to carry off the baits and spring every trap,
always with total impunity to himself. At one time he was
watched out to some distance from his drain, and traps were then
put in all directions round it, but, by jumping over some and
rolling over others, he escaped all. In fact, though a despised
and maltreated animal, when he has once acquired a certain
experience in worldly matters, few beasts show more address and
cunning in keeping out of scrapes. Though eaten in France,
Germany, and other countries, and pronounced to make excellent hams, we in Britain despise him as food, though I see no
reason why he should not be quite as good as any pork.
The badger becomes immensely fat. Though not a great
eater, his quiet habits and his being a great sleeper prevent his
being lean.
The immense muscular power that he has in his chest and legs
enables him to dig with great rapidity, while his powerful jaws
(powerful, indeed, beyond any other animal of his size) enable
him to tear away any obstacle in the shape of roots, &c. that he
meets with. He can also stand with perfect impunity a blow on
his forehead which would split the frontal bone of an ox. This
is owing to its great thickness, and also to the extra protection
of a strong ridge or keel which runs down the middle of his
head. A comparatively slight blow on the back of his head kills
him. In his natural state he is more than a match for any
animal that would be inclined to molest him, and can generally
keep at bay any dog small enough to enter his hole. Fighting
at advantage from behind some stone or root, he gives the most
fearful bites and scratches, while the dog has nothing within his
reach to attack save the badger's formidable array of teeth and
claws.
Though nearly extinct as one of theferæ naturæ of England,
the extensive woods and tracts of rocks in the north of Scotland
will, I hope, prevent the badger's becoming, like the beaver and
other animals, wholly a creature of history, and existing only in
record. Much should I regret that this respectable representative of so ancient a family, the comrade of mammoths and other
wonders of the antediluvian world, should become quite extirpated. Living, too, in remote and uncultivated districts, he
very seldom commits any depredations deserving of death or
persecution, but subsists on the wild succulent grasses and roots,
and the snails and reptiles which he finds in the forest glades,
or, on rare occasions, makes capture of young game or wounded
rabbits or hares, but I do not believe that he does or can hunt
down any game that would not otherwise fall a prey to crow or
weasel, or which has the full use of its limbs. It is only wounded
and injured animals that he can catch.
It is difficult to understand how any person who is not lost to
every sense of humanity and shame can take delight in the
cowardly and brutal amusement of badger-baiting-instead of
amusement, I should have said, the disgusting exhibition of a
peaceable and harmless animal worried by fierce and powerful
dogs. The poor badger, too, has probably been kept for a
length of time in a confined and close hutch, thereby losing half
his energy and strength ; while the dogs, trained to the work and
in full vigour of wind and limb, attack him in the most tender
and vulnerable parts. Truly, I always feel a wish to make the
badger and his keeper change places for a few rounds. Not that
I would pay the former so bad a compliment as to suppose that
he would take delight in tormenting even so great a brute as his
gaoler must be.
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