What animal would do this?

[Baldbloke]

Badgers certainly open up the banks on my ground to access underground bee hives. Next morning there’s a sweet smell of honey on the air which the dogs go to investigate....

[daltontrees]

16 hours ago, drinksloe said:

Dalton, when u say 1km2 is a territory, is that for an individual broc or a family group??

Some off the family groups/sett can be massive

That's for a clan of typically 6-7. Nomadic badgers can cover 200km2. Setts can have satellite setts that are only used for short periods, perhaps coinciding with foraging there, and would extend the territory. It's more energy-efficient to build a satellite sett than to commute every day, bearing in mind that setts can last for centuries.

[daltontrees]

PS I'm still just saying what I was told at the weekend. I haven't observed any of this first-hand yet.

[drinksloe]

29 minutes ago, daltontrees said:

PS I'm still just saying what I was told at the weekend. I haven't observed any of this first-hand yet.

Cheers.

Althou it will be like most other things in nature/wildlife and vary massively from place to place, i know off a few areas with big setts within 100m's of each other and all active, the forester/staker on there reckoned he counted 30 walk under his high seat 1 night 1 after the other, and i do believe him as setts everywhere.

 

Also when been out with the lamp seen badgers miles away from any know setts so amazing how far they will travel or often 'claim' rabbit burrows and enlarge them.

Same with otters too we used to regulalry see them on the back hill up to 1000m away from any real water course, guessing hunting frogs and stuff in rashes, wet holes and the odd shallow ditch

[Stubby]

No one has suggested it could be Mark Bolam yet ?

[felixthelogchopper]

10 minutes ago, Stubby said:

No one has suggested it could be Mark Bolam yet ?

He'd only do that to an off-licence.

[Gelster]

I was on a badger course yesterday, so I',m not an expert, but it's fresh in my mind. This wasp nest question came up. Foxes and badgers will both seek out wasps nests, and apparently are good at judging the point at which the grubs are at their plumpest. Badgers when they dig push stuff to their sides and behind, whereas foxes shove it mainly behind. If there's a big area of spoil it's probably badger.
 
Typiucal badger territory is 1km2. Sett could be on adjacent land. But it's been a hard hard year for badgers finding food, so they could be coming from further away, foraging new territory. Or they could be nomadic.
 
All according to the Badger Society yesterday.

Couple of pics from yesterday of the original hole plus another one a few yards away.

It looks like the spoil has gone behind and to the sides, so going by your description above it is probably a badger

[devon TWiG]

Found exactly the same type of excavated bees nest in my woods today , would prefer to have bees than badgers .....