A Badger Out In Daylight -No Need To Panic

 Having posted a photograph of a badger seen out during the early morning (the person who photographed it wanted to alert residents to keep their dogs safe 😒) there was some concern expressed that the badger might need help.

The daytime badger photo that caused concern. (c)2023 Bristol Badger Group

One suggestion was that the badger had been ousted from the sett.

Another suggestion was that the sett may have been interfered with and the badger was escaping.

Another was that it might be starving.

In fact there is nothing abnormal about seeing a badger in the early morning or early evening especially in summer time. There are a good few photos of badgers in daylight and in the above (Bristol) case we do not know where the sett is but the badger could well have been returning to it.  

Above: a badger out during early evening (c)2023 Time Out With Nature

It seems to be that naturalists tend not to know themselves that, like foxes, badgers in what they consider to be a safe area will venture out into daylight. W. Kay Robinson who founded the once notable British Naturalists Association (1905), wrote in Britain's Beasts of Prey (1949) of the number of cases of walkers reporting being 'chased' by a bear in the woods and others also noted these 'bear' incidents. The 'bears' were of course badgers and I doubt they chased anyone unless it was a sow with cubs close by (even that would be unusual.  

(c)2023 respective copyright holder

The only time to be concerned is if you see that the badger is injured/bleeding or if someone is interfering with a sett or some sort of development in underway near a sett (it is illegal to damage or destroy a sett though we have caught a few contractors/developers trying this and pleading ignorance). If you see an injured badger contact your local wildlife rescue (in the Bristol region Secret World).  If you see a sett being damaged then contact the local police and RSPCA and explain what is going on.  With the developers we came across it was pointed out that they were breaking the law and it was explained that there was a big fine and, extremely bad publicity for the company and the area was left alone and some cover replaced over setts.