Thars badgers in them thar hills!

Alun

Was up on Conavalla in the Wicklow Mountains today (yes, in the lashing rain!). Anyone who knows it, knows that it's a flat featureless rock strewn summit (at 734m), and just on the edge of the summit area we saw a couple of fairly freshly dug holes that I can only imagine were those of a badger. There were a couple of what looked like rabbit skulls littering the entrance to one of the holes as well. Now I personally can't imagine why any self-respecting badger would want to live up in a godforsaken place like that, but someone in the group claimed that she actually saw a badger up there once wandering around in broad daylight.

So, can anyone shed any light on this? I've always associated badgers with low level woodland areas msyelf.

John Griffin

Alun wrote: »

Was up on Conavalla in the Wicklow Mountains today (yes, in the lashing rain!). Anyone who knows it, knows that it's a flat featureless rock strewn summit (at 734m), and just on the edge of the summit area we saw a couple of fairly freshly dug holes that I can only imagine were those of a badger. There were a couple of what looked like rabbit skulls littering the entrance to one of the holes as well. Now I personally can't imagine why any self-respecting badger would want to live up in a godforsaken place like that, but someone in the group claimed that she actually saw a badger up there once wandering around in broad daylight.

So, can anyone shed any light on this? I've always associated badgers with low level woodland areas msyelf.

Plenty of Badgers in the mountains, can't think of where the sett is on Conavalla. I find that the Badgers living in the mountains seem to be smaller than their cousins in the low lands though. I know of alot of setts in the mountains. You will also find plenty of foxes too, might explain the skulls. While you will find them in the mountains there won't be as many as in the low lands.

Alun

John Griffin wrote: »

Plenty of Badgers in the mountains, can't think of where the sett is on Conavalla. I find that the Badgers living in the mountains seem to be smaller than their cousins in the low lands though. I know of a lot of setts in the mountains. You will also find plenty of foxes too, might explain the skulls. While you will find them in the mountains there won't be as many as in the low lands.

Thanks for that .. I was just surprised that they'd live up there, as it's such a pretty bare, barren place.

I've also seen what I thought was a badger sett along the side of the upper reaches of the Glenealo river, not a huge distance away from the one on Conavalla really (a couple of km's at the most).

If you're interested, it was just off the main summit plateau of Conavalla, roughly in a SW direction, had two entrances and it looked quite fresh to me (I've never noticed it before). I may possibly be up there again during the week, and I'll try and get a GPS waypoint and take a photo if I remember. I may also try and find the one on the Glenealo river again as well.

meathstevie

Doesn't surprise me at all really. Badgers will live in any spot where they're left in peace, can dig the ground and find grub.

whitser

Alun wrote: »

Was up on Conavalla in the Wicklow Mountains today (yes, in the lashing rain!). Anyone who knows it, knows that it's a flat featureless rock strewn summit (at 734m), and just on the edge of the summit area we saw a couple of fairly freshly dug holes that I can only imagine were those of a badger. There were a couple of what looked like rabbit skulls littering the entrance to one of the holes as well. Now I personally can't imagine why any self-respecting badger would want to live up in a godforsaken place like that, but someone in the group claimed that she actually saw a badger up there once wandering around in broad daylight.

So, can anyone shed any light on this? I've always associated badgers with low level woodland areas msyelf.

country is full of badgers. any where they can find peace and quite. wicklow mountains are full of them. as for seeing one in broad day light, i always believed that when a badger is seen out in the day that its a bad sign and that the badger is sick. can any one confirm that or is it old wives tale?

John Griffin

whitser wrote: »

country is full of badgers. any where they can find peace and quite. wicklow mountains are full of them. as for seeing one in broad day light, i always believed that when a badger is seen out in the day that its a bad sign and that the badger is sick. can any one confirm that or is it old wives tale?

The use of the word full would imply that there are too many or the population is at capacity and this is not the case. The Wicklow Mountains are full of Deer alright. And there is a healthy population of Badgers.

As for the sick badger theory, it is a possibility, but healthy Badgers will also venture out in daylight hours in undisturbed areas. Young males being pushed out from the setts will also be seen traveling during daylight hours occasionally. So a badger seen during daylight hours is not necessarily sick.

@Alun: if you have the grid refs of any setts in Wicklow PM them to me, i will put them on record. Thanks.

Alun

John Griffin wrote: »

@Alun: if you have the grid refs of any setts in Wicklow PM them to me, i will put them on record. Thanks.

Don't have any right now, but as I said, I may be out in the hills on Wednesday, so I'll try and get a couple.

gversey

I would be carefull mentioning exact locations of setts, i know some guys who would be delighted in finding setts for badger baiting.

stevoman

gversey wrote: »

I would be carefull mentioning exact locations of setts, i know some guys who would be delighted in finding setts for badger baiting.

well then report them to the guards it highly illegal.

AFAIK John Griffen is a nature enthusiast and photographer so he safe!

gversey

Not my place to report anybody, the guards and rangers get paid to do that sort of thing.I was only putting it across to be careful.

boneless

I'm sure Alun is careful with this type of information. Also, I'm strongly tempted to bar talk of hunting on the forum.

I would hate to do it but it appears to creep into every thread at some point.

John Griffin

gversey wrote: »

I would be carefull mentioning exact locations of setts, i know some guys who would be delighted in finding setts for badger baiting.

I am a Ranger in the Wicklow Mountains, you are right about putting such information on a public forum, that is why i asked Alun to PM me.

gversey wrote: »

Not my place to report anybody, the guards and rangers get paid to do that sort of thing.I was only putting it across to be careful.

Gardai and Rangers depend on information from the public to do their jobs effectively, if the public don't talk the we don't catch people and the crime continues. Your choice! If you think it is something that should continue then say nothing.

boneless wrote: »

I'm sure Alun is careful with this type of information. Also, I'm strongly tempted to bar talk of hunting on the forum.

I would hate to do it but it appears to creep into every thread at some point.

I think that would be a very negative thing, it is natural for people that hunt and conservationists/ animal lovers to clash. But both sides grow to understand all sides and dispell the myths and preconcieved ideas of eachother. Isn't that part of the reason for boards, debateing and learning?
Hunting is also a nesscessary part of conservation, like it or not. Hunters sometimes need to be more conservation minded and vice versa.

lightening

Yeah, I have learned lost from the hunters. Some of them really know their beans. However, there is a lot of hunters who claim to be conservationists and insist that their hunting keep populations in check without doing any sort of count or surveys.

People, if you hunt and you love it, that's ok (in my book) as long as its above board and legal and done responsibly like ANY other sport. It's ok to admit it. Don't carry on like you are doing us all a favour and you have to do it.


I think NoNameRanger would be a great moderator along with you Boneless (not that you are doing a bad job at all!). He is a professional and can has a great knowledge of what is going on. Most of us here are amateurs, both nature enthusiasts and hunters. There is a lot of myths and weird pub theories knocking from both hunters and enthusiasts. NoNameRanger seems to have the training and legal knowledge to put things right and to maintain a calmness between both parties.

You are going to get people who are dead against hunting and you are going to get hunters who want to shoot everything. That's just the way it is. I don't know wether banning talk of hunting will help.

Vegeta

boneless wrote: »

I would hate to do it but it appears to creep into every thread at some point.

Is it being argumentative if I point out the first person to mention hunting here was you :P

Alun

Please, try and keep on topic can't we? Yes, I know it's not really my job, but I started this thread as a serious question regarding the badger's habitat and it'd be nice if we could just keep it to that rather than getting derailed onto the old pro/anti hunting arguments yet again.

Vegeta

Personally I have not seen badgers in the type of terrain you describe in the opening post.

There are a few hills/mountains around me that I would be quite familiar with and I have not come across any sets at the tops (400m +)

But there is clearly food there for the badger as evidenced by the small skulls so if they have food and privacy then I think they'd be quite content there. At that height I don't know would the few degrees cooler temp bother them

boneless

Alun wrote: »

Please, try and keep on topic can't we? Yes, I know it's not really my job, but I started this thread as a serious question regarding the badger's habitat and it'd be nice if we could just keep it to that rather than getting derailed onto the old pro/anti hunting arguments yet again.

I agree. I just mooted the hunting debate because a previous poster stated he/she knew of people who engaged in illegal hunting practices in relation to badgers.

I am a former hunting enthusiast, by the way. I grew to love nature through this.

So now I have abused my modship with this retort, back on topic the rest of ye :P!!!

meathstevie

Vegeta wrote: »

Personally I have not seen badgers in the type of terrain you describe in the opening post.

There are a few hills/mountains around me that I would be quite familiar with and I have not come across any sets at the tops (400m +)

But there is clearly food there for the badger as evidenced by the small skulls so if they have food and privacy then I think they'd be quite content there. At that height I don't know would the few degrees cooler temp bother them

Don't think so. Badgers live in far colder places than Ireland.

Alun

I went up there yesterday and managed to find it again despite the poor visibility due to low cloud level. Have PM'ed the details and a few photos to John who confirmed that it indeed looks like an active badger sett.

BryanL

might just be that they live there during the summer.Aren't they more inclined to use so called "sattelite setts" during the summer rather than their normal established setts?
It could be that they are moving with the availability of food too? ripening berries or maybe the lowlands are just too flooded? even without gormleys interventions Badgers would be too smart to build on flood planes!
Bryan