This is a brief post to write down an observation I have made in our area which is that of a new sett entrance added to what is now a three-entrance sett apparently selectively burrowed under some fallen coarse woody debris.
Most of the badger sett videos that I have seen display a rather open entrance hole hidden by lush vegetation of forbs rather than any objects and even shrubs are sort of kept to the background or to the sides.
However, as I sneaked a peak at the badger sett in our area, I discovered a new entrance burrowed under the aforementioned coarse woody debris (mostly large or medium-sized branches).
The soil heaps were located in a way that suggested – the hole had been dug after the deposition of the branches and I believe that the branches themselves fell during either the autumn (2023) or spring (2024) windstorm (they could have fallen during other minor wind events, as well).
It appears that the branches had piled up very near to the formerly already existing two sett entrances (probably above the below-ground chambers and tunnels and extensions could have been made) but there is also a possibility that there had been a smaller entrance which became enlarged after the windfall.
Thusly, it is difficult to say whether the badgers had been aggravated by the wind-fallen branches and they had to remodel their existing entrance so that they could keep using the part of the sett which had been briefly blocked, or if the badgers actually made advantage of the fallen branches as a cover and obstruction preventing the approach by predators.
I have seen similar sett entrances with some coarse woody debris piling over them in some videos from Estonia.
Perhaps in the Baltic forests where habitat is shared among badgers and their predators, CWD would be beneficial to conceal and to ‘fence’ the sett entrance holes.
But, of course, in these Estonian setts the branches and the logs could have fallen on the sett and the badgers might have simply adjusted rather than deliberately constructed a new entrance under the CWD.
I only inspected the sett for the shortest time possible to cause little disturbance because if there are cubs, I wished not to impose upon them.
I will perhaps return to inspect more closely in late autumn before snow has covered the sett.
However, from what I saw, I thought I could put forth yet another proposition, namely, that badgers were not only taking advantage of the CWD but that they might have dragged some smaller branches to add to the pile.
It would be curious to study whether badgers might be constructing little ‘verandas’ to their sett entrances where the effort is not too great and where appropriate material is readily available nearby.
On the other hand, the arrangement which implied that branches had been dragged, could also attest to the badgers’ reorganizing some of ‘the mess made by the wind’ above their sett.
It did not seem, however, that branches had been dragged away from the pile. They were either dragged to the pile or they were simply moved from one side of the pile to another.
As badgers are keen on taking in fresh bedding and dragging out old bedding, CWD could prove an obstacle to their routine activities.
In this particular configuration, bedding had been taken in through another entrance and if the chambers are adjoined, perhaps the obstruction of one entrance would not be a hindrance to the sett activities.
There could be differential utilization patterns to such setts with open and concealed entrances.
For example, cubs might be kept closer to obstructed passages so that predators found it difficult to even sniff at the tunnel.
Meanwhile, the main comings and goings could be achieved through the larger, open entrances.
In addition to anti-predation concealment/predator access obstruction, there could be other benefits such as protection from precipitation (rain, snow), wind, heat, soil erosion or perhaps even reducing competition with other species (foxes, racoon dogs) if the latter did not prefer to use dens that were obstructed by CWD.
Notes by Ieva 