The Badger is a very shy mammal that can be found throughout the country on farmland, in meadows, on the edges of woodlands and on grassland that is regularly cut. It is very rarely seen because it is nocturnal which means it sleeps during the day and does most of its activity at night.

The Badger can easily be recognised because it has a black and white striped head and small black and white ears. The Badger’s body can look grey from a distance, although its body is actually covered in black and white hairs. It has four stocky-looking legs and it uses its powerful front legs when it wants to tunnel. Badgers live beneath the ground in homes called ‘setts’. Setts have a lot of tunnels which link with other tunnels and chambers. The chambers are used for raising their young and for sleeping in.

Badgers live in family groups called ‘clans’ which can consist of up to fourteen adults. The clans usually have territories of their own which the Badgers patrol and scent mark every night. Badgers also scent mark each other in order to create a collective clan smell. This unique clan smell helps Badgers to recognise each other because they have very poor vision.