Badger hugger

[Melaka]

I'm neither sentimental nor anthropomorphic when it comes to animals. Indeed I like to regard myself as a pragmatic conservationist. However just occasionally the interface between animals and people makes for good pix. The following were taken on a members' evening at the British Wildlife Centre - an excellent place for getting pictures of otherwise difficult species.

The Red Squirrel is seriously endangered in the UK, mainly because of the introduction of the American Grey Squirrel. The BWC has a good encosure for taking photos. The animals move very fast and just getting a shot is quite an achievement especially as the light wasn't very good.





One solution to the Grey problem might be a genetically modified version of the Pine Marten. It's the only animal capable of catching a squirrel in the trees. If it were genetically modified to hunt just the Grey .... The pic was taken through the wire of its cage, hence the poor quality.



The badger enjoys an unreasonably high level of protection in Great Britain. It's accused of spreading TB amongst cattle of which 25,000 are slaughtered annually because they have the disease. The badger is now more numerous than the fox. Those infected with TB die an unpleasant death but in the meantime they are major predators of ground nesting birds, hedgehogs and wild bees, all of which are in serious decline. That striped face and the works of Kenneth Graham have made it an iconic animal for many.





Rather her than me! Good thing it's only a baby.

[sponner]

Re: Badger hugger

cracking pics.

The badger issue is a big one for the farmer's around here. I was speaking to a bloke the other day who has had to send three prize milk cows off for destruction, he's not a fan.

p.s. I have no knowledge of the issue personally so no opinion.

[Greytop]

Re: Badger hugger

Super shots David and an interesting narrative.
There's no doubt which is the cuter Squirrel too

[Guest]

Re: Badger hugger

Nice series of shots.

The badger is also establishing itself in towns, and is a major wrecker of bin bags etc in areas (including my own) where councils require a bag collection.

But the food of choice for badgers are slugs/snails, mice, rats and insects. Where they have a good diet they do not contract 'bovine' TB, where they are stressed (monocultures of industrialised pasture, low insect populations etc) then they are prey to bovine TB (in exactly the same way as we are, and yes we can, with a sufficiently stressed immune systems from bad diet, catch and spread bovine TB).

The sad fact is that very few of our meadows/pasture support the variety of flora/fauna necessary to keep both badgers and cattle healthy.

(note Bovine TB practically dissapeared in the years between 1940-80, the rise in Bovine TB rates amongst badgers and cattle exactly mimics the rise of industrially seeded pasture and chemical control of insect populations).

The key issue is the price of milk, we have an unrealistically low price if we want to retain a healthy population of both cows and badgers.

(the whole thing is very strange given societies preference for diluted milk)

Nick

[IPWheatley]

Re: Badger hugger

First, a nice set of pictures, especially the Red. Second, I would like to pose a question to Nick re Bovine TB. If you remember not so long ago when the whole countryside was virtually a no go area due to Foot and Mouth disease was it not the case that that most farmers chose not to have their herds vacinated in the first place purely on cost grounds knowing full well that should disaster strike, they would be fully compensated by the Government/EU for their losses, some, albeit a very small minority, even going as far as deliberatly infecting their own cattle to cash in? So to Bovine TB. Is there no effective vacine? Are the Badgers merely a handy scapegoat or is history simply repeating itself? Ian W.

[Guest]

Re: Badger hugger

First, a nice set of pictures, especially the Red. Second, I would like to pose a question to Nick re Bovine TB. If you remember not so long ago when the whole countryside was virtually a no go area due to Foot and Mouth disease was it not the case that that most farmers chose not to have their herds vacinated in the first place purely on cost grounds knowing full well that should disaster strike, they would be fully compensated by the Government/EU for their losses, some, albeit a very small minority, even going as far as deliberatly infecting their own cattle to cash in? So to Bovine TB. Is there no effective vacine? Are the Badgers merely a handy scapegoat or is history simply repeating itself? Ian W.

A highly contentious comment wrt the farmers and not one I would choose to endorse. As I recall the decision on vacination was a Government one and not the farmers, based on the then existing government strategy for control of the disease. And effectively the government has powers that pre-empt the rights of stock owners and dictate what will be done.

There has recently been a lot of research on the transmission of foot and mouth which suggests the infectious period for livestock differs a lot (and is shorter) than was believed in 2001 (or 1969).

There have been planned field trials on vaccinating badgers against bovine TB (a difficult and disruptive task) but I can recall no results as yet. There have been small scale trials of providing badgers with food and mineral supplements, conducted mainly by individual farmers, these have been regarded as a success but are really too small to provide good scientific data.

Nick

[Chevvyf1]

Re: Badger hugger

David what a wonderful eyeful these images give ! Thanks so much for sharing - I so lurve the red squirrel shots

[Chevvyf1]

Re: Badger hugger

David I just phoned and booked two places on 18th July Photography day - THANK YOU so so much Nick and I shall lurve this day !

They have a few more places 01342 - 834658

http://www.britishwildlifecentre.co.uk/

[Melaka]

Re: Badger hugger

I don't know what lenses you have but I find the 50-200, occasionally with the EC14, covers most eventualities. I contemplated taking the 90-250 last week but with some animals, such as the water vole, frogs and snakes, I would have been within the minimum focussing distance. The principal advantage of a photographic day is that you get inside some of the cages and there won't be as many folk around as on an ordinary day. Last Saturday I was the only person with FT and I saw only one MFT camera - the rest were mainly Canikon.

We'll look forward to seeing the results.

[Chevvyf1]

Re: Badger hugger

Hi David, I was thinking of my Sigma 150 Macro and my 50-200 and in the bag my 14-54 these seem to be my fav's these days ! Is it mostly grass/pathways there ? I was thinking of not taking the rucksack but my n wheels case !

[Jim Ford]

Re: Badger hugger

The Red Squirrel is seriously endangered in the UK, mainly because of the introduction of the American Grey Squirrel.

My partner comes from Hamburg and she tells me that they don't have greys there, only reds. They're very common and tame. Her friend was reported to the police by a neighbour for feeding them on her balcony, because they considered them a pest!

Jim

[Melaka]

Re: Badger hugger

Hi David, I was thinking of my Sigma 150 Macro and my 50-200 and in the bag my 14-54 these seem to be my fav's these days ! Is it mostly grass/pathways there ? I was thinking of not taking the rucksack but my n wheels case !

The site is very compact and you're seldom more than 150 yards from the entrance or 200 from your car. They've recently tarmaced most of the paths and the walking is easy. There's a coffee shop that does sandwiches etc. For most of the animals the 50-200 is far the best. You may get the chance of a macro shot of insects or a frog but I'd be surprised if the 14-54 gets much use. I'd be inclined to avoid macro shots of the adders but the grass snakes won't mind although it's difficult to get that close.

[Melaka]

Re: Badger hugger

My partner comes from Hamburg and she tells me that they don't have greys there, only reds. They're very common and tame. Her friend was reported to the police by a neighbour for feeding them on her balcony, because they considered them a pest!

Jim

The Red is the indigenous European squirrel but I believe some Grays have been released in Italy. Number one pest in much of Europe, especially France, is the Coypu, fortunately eradicated in this country some thirty years ago. It's a shame we can't do the same with the Mink.

[Willom]

Re: Badger hugger

I like the first shot. It has captured the inquisative nature of the squirrel very well.

The Red is the indigenous European squirrel but I believe some Grays have been released in Italy. Number one pest in much of Europe, especially France, is the Coypu, fortunately eradicated in this country some thirty years ago. It's a shame we can't do the same with the Mink.

My parents live in France and red squirrels occasionally visit their garden, most often in the autumn to take advantage of the hazel nuts in the hedgerow. Hope to get out there then to try and get some shots. There is a large and growing population in Italy. Like the mink in this country the spread of the grey in Italy has been aided greatly by animal rights activists who prevented an eradication programme about fifteen years ago.

[Who's_E]

Re: Badger hugger

Dad,

I knew squirrels ate nuts but didn't realise badgers went for them, too.

Nick