The Badger

(Broc) Badgers are found all over Ireland. A male badger is called a boar, a female is called a sow and the young are called cubs. They eat young rabbits, mice, worms, beetles, wild fruits, acorns, roots and grasses. They are nocturnal and are not often seen during the day. The badger's home is called a sett. It is made of underground rooms and tunnels and has many entrances.

The sett is usually found in woodlands where there is plenty of cover and where soil is light and dry. A large sett could have up to forty entrances. The badger makes small air holes in the roof of the tunnels to allow air into the sett.

Badgers are very clean animals. They make their nests from leaves and grass which they carry into the sett using their front paws and chin. This bed is cleaned out regularly. Sometimes the dried grass and leaves may be seen near the entrance to the sett where the badger has thrown them.