10 March, 2024
The ideal arrival begins with badgers simply going straight underground. To help ensure this, we made a "tent" of an old blanket over one of the sett entrances and put the crate in which the badgers were transported in it. To make the sett more inviting some old bedding belonging to the badgers was stuffed in first. In addition, this was all arranged late in the evening to avoid any added stress as result of being in a strange new place in broad daylight.
Apart from the brief appearance shown yesterday the badgers stayed out of sight until after dark and probably did take to the sett quite quickly.
The morning after the arrival of new badgers invariably begins with an anxious inspection of the fence. Capture and relocation in daylight inevitably means they arrive somewhat stressed. Their first contacts with an electric fence can add to that, and any weak spots in the fence can result in the escape of a badger not yet accustomed to finding food or familiar with its environment. Happily the fence appeared in good order this morning, with no signs of escape attempts or further stress – always a relief.
Overnight video showed the badgers exploring calmly most of the time, though one appeared a bit more anxious: she didn't eat and at times took refuge in the sett when apparently startled by the sound of her companion approaching
The cameras didn't record either badger going underground, either because they moved too quickly or because they entered via the other side of the "tent". One was out and about and seemingly looking for the other well after 6AM as it was getting light, then it disappeared off camera, hopefully having rediscovered the sett and settled down for a good day's sleep.