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I found a hole.

Silent Running · 2018-07-12 10:26:02

... in a bank near the house. I live in deep country and have never seen such a hole. The opening is about the size and shape of a rugby ball and it's deep enough to hold 2 footballs. It has been dug out in the past week, and bees have set up home in a small hole in the bottom of it. I have no problem with the bees, but…

12-07-2018 10:26am

#1

Silent Running

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... in a bank near the house. I live in deep country and have never seen such a hole. The opening is about the size and shape of a rugby ball and it's deep enough to hold 2 footballs. It has been dug out in the past week, and bees have set up home in a small hole in the bottom of it. I have no problem with the bees, but something considerably bigger must have dug the hole.

Any thoughts?

[IMG][/img]

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#2 12-07-2018 1:11pm

Fuzzy Clam

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Badger?

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#3 12-07-2018 1:34pm

Silent Running

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I hope not! I'm very fond of our hedgehog population and collect underweight animals late in the year. I feed and water them until the frost ends in the spring, when they are released.

I know the badger is a threat to hedgehogs as it can unroll them. I've never seen a badger in the general area.

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#4 12-07-2018 1:59pm

magicbastarder

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you are aware you need a licence to do that?

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#5 12-07-2018 2:03pm

Silent Running

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magicbastarder wrote: »

you are aware you need a licence to do that?

To save a hedgehog's life? No, I wasn't aware. Who issues a licence for this?

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#6 12-07-2018 2:07pm

magicbastarder

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NPWS - they're a protected species so you need a licence to handle them.
http://www.wri.ie/pages/licences.html

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#7 12-07-2018 2:11pm

Fuzzy Clam

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Silent Running wrote: »

I've never seen a badger in the general area.

I live in an area with plenty of badgers. Until about 2 weeks ago, I had never actually seen one alive.

They are nocturnal so you might not see them.

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#8 12-07-2018 2:13pm

TheShow

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Looks like a badger sett to me

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#9 12-07-2018 2:37pm

Silent Running

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Fuzzy Clam wrote: »

I live in an area with plenty of badgers. Until about 2 weeks ago, I had never actually seen one alive.

They are nocturnal so you might not see them.

The place is covered pretty well with cameras and I regularly see the hedgehogs rambling about at night. Typical that this hole is in a blind spot for the cameras.

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#10 12-07-2018 2:39pm

Silent Running

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TheShow wrote: »

Looks like a badger sett to me

I would have thought a sett would be deep. The hole is about big enough for a cat to curl up in.

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#11 12-07-2018 3:13pm

Fuzzy Clam

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Silent Running wrote: »

I would have thought a sett would be deep. The hole is about big enough for a cat to curl up in.

Maybe the badger hasn't finished digging.

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#12 12-07-2018 3:18pm

Silent Running

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Fuzzy Clam wrote: »

Maybe the badger hasn't finished digging.

Maybe it gave up. The bees have taken it over now.

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#13 12-07-2018 3:29pm

TheShow

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Thread very carefully - one Boardsie is already gone missing....

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057876630

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#14 12-07-2018 5:41pm

Graces7

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TheShow wrote: »

Thread very carefully - one Boardsie is already gone missing....

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057876630

Hears the signature tune from"jaws"!

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#15 12-07-2018 5:51pm

New Home

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Graces, even I could tell you it's unlikely to be a shark!

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#16 12-07-2018 6:13pm

fiacha

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Silent Running wrote: »

... It has been dug out in the past week, and bees have set up home in a small hole in the bottom of it. I have no problem with the bees, but something considerably bigger must have dug the hole.

Any thoughts?

Classic behaviour of the Honey Badger.

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#17 12-07-2018 6:16pm

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

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That is certainly not a badger hole, as they are always wider than they are tall. It's the shape of a fox earth but seems a little high on the bank. What is the diameter of the hole?

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#18 12-07-2018 6:28pm

Silent Running

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Ernesto Uneven Treachery wrote: »

That is certainly not a badger hole, as they are always wider than they are tall. It's the shape of a fox earth but seems a little high on the bank. What is the diameter of the hole?

It's oval, approx 200mm wide by 300mm high. We do have a regular visit from a fox, but he just breezes through. He gets a tough time from the local magpies.

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#19 12-07-2018 6:33pm

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

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Silent Running wrote: »

It's oval, approx 200mm wide by 300mm high. We do have a regular visit from a fox, but he just breezes through. He gets a tough time from the local magpies.

The classic Fox Earth has a 20cm diameter and taller than wide; so that's my best guess.

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#20 12-07-2018 6:37pm

archer22

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It was probably originally a Rat or Mouse nest...what you see now is the result of it having been dug out by a predator, likely a Badger or Fox.

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#21 12-07-2018 7:37pm

Seth Brundle

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Oh.
My.
God!

https://youtu.be/liJfZvXdiTE

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#22 12-07-2018 11:59pm

Graces7

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New Home wrote: »

Graces, even I could tell you it's unlikely to be a shark!

Stranger things have happened in this weird weather year! You never know!

Also that music and the words. "Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water," have become a symbol, a skit almost. Applying to many situations.... Which is why we remember it so well... And as someone has posted with wry humour, one person has already "vanished" . cue Jaws music again !

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#23 13-07-2018 7:04am

Silent Running

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I have to admit that I'm walking very gently around the garden these past few days. No way in hell I'm getting the ride on lawnmower out.

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#24 13-07-2018 6:47pm

Silent Running

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Following a tip from another Boardsie. (Thanks mate) I sifted through the spoil from the hole, and, as per his prediction, there were dead bees among it.

Looks like something dug out a bee nest. The bees going in and out now are the survivors of the attack.

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#25 13-07-2018 7:00pm

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

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Silent Running wrote: »

Following a tip from another Boardsie. (Thanks mate) I sifted through the spoil from the hole, and, as per his prediction, there were dead bees among it.

Looks like something dug out a bee nest. The bees going in and out now are the survivors of the attack.

Leave twigs and such across the entrance to see if it's moved. Bees often nest in the entrance to mouse and fox holes and you'll always find dead bees around a hive, as individuals only live a few months.

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#26 13-07-2018 7:39pm

Graces7

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Silent Running wrote: »

Following a tip from another Boardsie. (Thanks mate) I sifted through the spoil from the hole, and, as per his prediction, there were dead bees among it.

Looks like something dug out a bee nest. The bees going in and out now are the survivors of the attack.

Well done Sherlock Hope it was some THING rather than SOMEONE ..

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