The badger is a native of almost all of Europe and some parts of western Asia. It is a powerfully built black, white, brown and grey animal with a small head, sticky body, small black eyes and a short tail. It is a nocturnal, social, burrowing animal that sleeps during the day in a burrow known as a sett. A sett may house several badger families and may have an extensive system of underground passages, chambers and several entrances. 

 

Badgers clean out their setts, periodically replacing soiled bedding material with a fresh replacement. They sometimes share their setts with other animals such as rabbits or red foxes but can be ferocious when provoked. They eat a wide variety of plant and animal food including earthworms, large insects, small mammals, cereals and tubers. 

 

In Ireland there is a stable population of badgers and they can be found throughout Ireland in areas of suitable habitat, typically lowland grassland and woodland habitats but also occasionally upland and suburban areas.

​

Image (c) from Mark Robinson, used under Creative Commons License BY 2.0.