29 December 2013

Another disappointing night photographically: nothing at all at the sett.

I put a camera over the latrine on Edgewood Road and got a single photo of our new neighbour using his new facility, or at least of the top of his head (it's likely to be male), at 2:37. His nose was pointing home, away from Róisín and Benji's. Question is, did he approach the border and turn around? Or was he en route home?

Given that his sett is at the edge of his territory his wanting a buffer of almost the entire field between his latrine and his sett seems, somehow, a little over the top (from a non-badger perspective of course). There's no meeting half-way here! As it happens, Róisín and Benji seem mostly to head into the field at the nearest corner, away from Edgewood Road.

All this may change after some face to face encounters.

Róisín and Benji are innocents abroad. Both are likely to be heavier than their average wild counterparts, which may help if either has the stomach for a confrontation: probably in Róisín's case and probably not in Benji's. The practice they've had doing "ear rolls" and "ninja moves" equip them both to survive far better than if they'd been reared and released as solitary individuals.