BADGERS IN BRITAIN Cont.......
Badgers always have an instinctive urge to dig, even when the set is far larger than they really need, so therefore large parts of it become derelict while at the same time they are continually constructing new tunnels and chambers elsewhere.
The chambers which are distributed throughout the sett will nearly always contain bedding material f some description, mainly grass, ferns or in some cases straw.They will also at different times clear out old entrances which may not have been used for over one or two years or more and renovate breeding and sleeping chambers. In this way the centre of activity of a sett can vary from year to year.
If a sett is well developed it can move quite considerably over a number of years especially if the age of the sett is around 30 - 40 years old. These can move horizontally or vertically depending on the location of the sett and the stratum of the soil.
To some people a badger sett is just a hole in the ground, but if you could look inside a working sett you would see that they are very carefully constructed and maintained. For example if a sett is on a slope, entrances are at different levels, this allows for the air to flow through, this can be seen to be working on a frosty morning when you can see a very faint steam to be coming out of the tunnels when the badgers are sleeping. Even so you would think that if the setts where constructed with a clear air flow through them what happens if there is a gale blowing, in fact the way in which it is built even when there are strong winds there are parts of the sett where the air movement is only slight and in the deeper parts the air is completely still. Ventilation holes also exist in badger setts these are made deliberately and are somewhere in the region of 30 - 40 mm across in diameter and lead from ground surface to a tunnel below.
There are also other types of setts.
The chambers which are distributed throughout the sett will nearly always contain bedding material f some description, mainly grass, ferns or in some cases straw.They will also at different times clear out old entrances which may not have been used for over one or two years or more and renovate breeding and sleeping chambers. In this way the centre of activity of a sett can vary from year to year.
If a sett is well developed it can move quite considerably over a number of years especially if the age of the sett is around 30 -
To some people a badger sett is just a hole in the ground, but if you could look inside a working sett you would see that they are very carefully constructed and maintained. For example if a sett is on a slope, entrances are at different levels, this allows for the air to flow through, this can be seen to be working on a frosty morning when you can see a very faint steam to be coming out of the tunnels when the badgers are sleeping. Even so you would think that if the setts where constructed with a clear air flow through them what happens if there is a gale blowing, in fact the way in which it is built even when there are strong winds there are parts of the sett where the air movement is only slight and in the deeper parts the air is completely still. Ventilation holes also exist in badger setts these are made deliberately and are somewhere in the region of 30 -
There are also other types of setts.
Annexe Setts.
Which have many well used entrances and worn paths to the main sett, 50 -
Subsidiary Setts.
With a variable number of entrances and not connected to other setts by obvious paths. Not always in use.
Outlier Setts.
With one and sometimes two holes and no defined path. Only used sporadically.
