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Photography / Animal related (non-anthro)
Species Badger
Size 654 x 568
File Size 551 kB
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This guy just appeared a couple of days ago. I didn't know at first what was making such a big mound of dirt in my driveway. Thought it might be the ground squirrels that already lived under the tree (almond....by the way) or bunnies moving in. Found out different this morning! I'm hoping he'll give me a chance for a better shot later. Also hoping he and his family eat up a bunch of the ground squirrels and gophers that plague us here.
Sorry for the blurry shot. Had to blow it up and sharpen it in PS and this is the best I could do with it without pixelating the heck out of it.
Sorry for the blurry shot. Had to blow it up and sharpen it in PS and this is the best I could do with it without pixelating the heck out of it.
Category Photography / Animal related (non-anthro)
Species Badger
Size 654 x 568px
File Size 551 kB
Oh good grief... you've never seen the bader video?
http://youtu.be/EIyixC9NsLI
When it came out, it was as big as Gangdam Style
http://youtu.be/EIyixC9NsLI
When it came out, it was as big as Gangdam Style
Probably not half as surprised as a couple of hours later when we used a backhoe to clear her mound of dirt out of the driveway and accidentally covered up her hole. But she has about 8-10 others we saw when we looked around the orchard. And I'm sure she'll uncover this one by morning anyway. =p
well, we buried his hole a few minutes later. He'd 1/2 way blocked our driveway with dirt we used the backhoe to clear. He opened it back up during the night, but didn't pile a bunch of dirt up this time. I'll try to catch him out at this hole or one of his other ones for a picture soon.
He's already dug it out, but without filling our driveway. He just opened the hole, which is what I was hoping for. And they also love ground squirrels, which abound in the orchard. In fact he took over a big ground squirrel complex. I imagine he's eaten them and will help us rid the orchard of most of the others. Most of our rabbits are up on the other side of the hill, under our brush pile. I doubt he'll ever get over there as long as he has plenty to eat where he is.
Well, <puts on professor's cap > Badgers are actually very fastidious creatures and spend a grip load of time grooming. I did a ton of research on them when I created my fursona a couple months ago. All a lot of people really know about them comes from the honey badger video on youtube, but American and European badgers are very very different from those, and from each other!
I'm aware of the vast difference of honey badgers (which everyone seems to think of) and American and European Badgers. I did not know about the grooming time, though that makes a lot of sense.
Badgers in general have a reputation of being bad tempered and surly. Whether or not this is true, they are undoubtedly some fierce fighters and possessed of a lot of strength and stamina. The one I have seen here is rather reclusive. Moves from hole to hole and is seldom seen. I've only caught one other glimpse since that picture. I welcome the badger as they are supposed to eat squirrels, which we are plagued with. I hope this one....and his/her family will take many squirrels out of our orchard and prosper.
Badgers in general have a reputation of being bad tempered and surly. Whether or not this is true, they are undoubtedly some fierce fighters and possessed of a lot of strength and stamina. The one I have seen here is rather reclusive. Moves from hole to hole and is seldom seen. I've only caught one other glimpse since that picture. I welcome the badger as they are supposed to eat squirrels, which we are plagued with. I hope this one....and his/her family will take many squirrels out of our orchard and prosper.
So......great to look at and helpful around the orchard. The only drawback is the large holes and piles of dirt they make. But since we no longer worry about harvesting the nuts, this is no problem actually. In fact our acreage is more like a refuge for deer than anything else. We have about a dozen deer living here at any given time. Today I drove down the driveway...which is about 1/4 mile long... and there were 3 does and 5 fawns all resting under one of the trees. The fawns, still spotted so pretty young. I just love seeing these beautiful babies out here. We usually give them a bale of alfalfa every now and then during the fall when the grass and other feed starts to run low and of course we have a watering spot for them year round. The only worry I have is when I see people park by the side of our road, which is just a little ways out of the city. I'm afraid they will shoot one of our deer. It has happened before. I don't think any have been killed, but I did see one last year that was limping and had a bloody place on her hind leg. People.....sometimes they really suck!!
I am deeply envious of wherever it is you live now! lol I love the countryside and sparsely populated areas where one can really enjoy nature like that, but never really get out to enjoy it. Even when I get out of suburbia to my place up in the mountains, there's still enough people around that true wildlife is a little scarce, though I do see coyote and the occasional bobcat or bear, it's just not enough. I did have a family of about 7 skunks living in my backyard at one point, but those I didn't particularly want to observe too closely. :P
Hmmm...I don't know where you live, but I am in California. Paso Robles to be exact. About half way between Los Angeles and San Francisco. I live on the edge of town which is approx. 24,000. It is mostly oak forest and chapparal around here. We have lots of coyotes, wild turkeys, some bobcats, a fair number of mountain lions (because we have so many deer), and bear...though up in the hills and a ways from my house. Oh, and foxes too.....can't forget them. They ate all our chickens a few weeks ago, dammit'!! But I just love all the wildlife!! In the mornings I go out early and there is always one or two bunnies munching on our lawn or just around. they are my favorite. I'm a bunny person.
LOL That's actually not too far from me. I split time between the Inland Empire and San Bernardino mountains, but pretty much right in the heart of suburbia. I know exactly where Paso Robles is. Pass through there all the time when I drive up to the bay area to visit with my sister and her family. Lovely area. I honestly didn't know there were badgers in CA at all! I thought they ranged east of the rockies for the most part. That's too bad about your chickens. My mother just started keeping them (spent the last 2 months building the taj-mahal of chicken coops for her...) and she worries about them all the time. LOL We've had bunnies for the last 3-4 years, whole families of them, as well as the skunks and the occasional raccoon, but that's about it.
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