BADGERS IN BRITAIN Cont.......
Badgers have an instinctive urge to dig, even when the sett is far larger than they really need, which means that large parts of it can become derelict even while they are constructing new tunnels and chambers elsewhere.
The chambers which are distributed throughout the sett will nearly always contain bedding material of 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 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 sett is around 30 - 40 years old. They 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 generally at different levels, thus allowing an air flow through, as can be seen on a frosty morning when you can see faint steam rising out of the tunnels when the badgers are sleeping. You might think that if the setts are constructed to provide this air flow then problems could occur when there is a gale blowing but 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 usually in the region of 30 - 40 mm in diameter and lead from the 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 of 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 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 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 generally at different levels, thus allowing an air flow through, as can be seen on a frosty morning when you can see faint steam rising out of the tunnels when the badgers are sleeping. You might think that if the setts are constructed to provide this air flow then problems could occur when there is a gale blowing but 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 usually in the region of 30 -
Annexe Setts.
Will have many well used entrances and worn paths linking to the main sett, 50 -
Subsidiary Setts.
Will have variable number of entrances and are not connected to other setts by obvious paths. Not always in use.
Outlier Setts.
Will have only one or two holes and sometimes and no defined path. Only used sporadically.
