Badgers in September
The badgers in the UK have had a hard summer this year. The drought hit hard, causing many cubs and older badgers to perish because they could not forage for food or water.
Thankfully, we are now getting some rain, which will provide some relief to the suffering wildlife and allow them to get on with their normal behaviour for the time of year.
September is a month when badgers hope to have abundant food, with berries, fruit falling, acorns, alongside their earthworms and insects. It is a month of building up fat reserves—badgers will reach their heaviest, even double the weight from summer.
There will also be a lot of sett renovations and cleaning happening at this time of year. Collection of bedding to take into the sett to have warm, comfy sleeping chambers for the coming winter.
Alongside this, there are territorial relationships playing out, and sadly fighting, with some badgers being pushed out of the family groups, including youngsters moving on to their own patch.
Badgers can mate all year round because of delayed implantation, but August and September are key fertile months for badgers. Mating at this time of year will result in any eggs fertilized now not actually implanting in the womb until December, ensuring all cubs are born together in high winter (around February).
Let’s hope the badgers can prep well at this time and that the winter will not be as hard as the summer has been this year.
Our visiting badgers:
The Anipal Times 