One of my favourite Wild Animals has always been the Badger. I think I can trace this affection back to my time at Prep School, in the then wilds of Berkshire (no noisy M4 or dual carriageway Oxford-Winchester A34 in those days). Prior's Court - even the name reeks of nostalgia - had a Clan system, made up of the four main protagonists in Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows - Moles, Rats, Toads and Badgers. I was in the latter and was proud of it! Living with Prior's Court Wood, as part of the school's extensive grounds, it was easy, particularly in the winter, to imagine The Wild Wood of Grahame's tale. Moreover, Pangbourne and the Thames were not too far away - habitat of Mole and Ratty and Grahame himself. What 10-13 year-old would not be entranced. I was even inspired to give a talk on The Badger to my class-mates - I used three books in my meticulous research:
The Observer's Book of Wild Animals of the British Isles compiled by W.J. Stokoe (1956) pp. 78-81 Family Mustelidae: Meles meles meles
A Beast Book for the Pocket by Edmund Sandars (6th impression 1957) pp. 77-80
The Badger by Ernest Neal (A Pelican Book, 1958)
Of course, I still have all three.- prized possessions in my Library. It must have been incredibly boring for my listeners, as I recall giving over-much detail to the bone structure, teeth and spoors and little about the romance of the animal. This was mildly surprising, as I had already fallen for Kenneth Grahame's classic. I re-read the book two years ago and was still captured by it, with a special place for Badger. I purchased two biographies of Grahame - by Peter Green (1959) and Alison Prince (1994) (the latter with a pertinent subtitle of An Innocent in the Wild Wood) - and got to understand the author much better. Then I bought two lovely illustrated editions of the book itself: Kestrel Books (1983), pictures by John Burningham; and Templar Publishing (2007), illustrated by Robert Ingpen. Badger, naturally loomed large in both.
Not only that, it inspired me to purchase (in first edition, of course!) and read William Horwood's sequels The Wind in Winter (1993), Toad Triumphant (1995), The Willows and Beyond (1996).
I did not watch the BBC Natural World Production in February 2008, on Badgers - Secrets of the Sett narrated by Sir David Attenborough, because I didn't know it was on! I have just found out you can watch it on YouTube, and it starts positively enough: Deep in this Devon valley lives one of the best loved animals...A treat in store. A little further on, Attenborough makes the point that few of us have seen a live badger. Alas, it is true. All my sightings have been at the side, or middle, of the road - victims of the unforgiving combustion engine. The badger, in fact, invokes more than one response, highlighted over the recent years by the Government policy of culling them to try to eradicate TB in cattle. Strong feelings are aroused; I am no farmer, with no livelihood at stake; thus, I am firmly against the policy and only hope a cheaper form of inoculation will be the official line in the future. Badger baiting still goes on - man's thirst for 'blood sports' has not been eradicated - as does the digging out of setts.
John Clare's poem shows up the sadistic delight men show towards the animal.
The Observer's Book of Wild Animals of the British Isles compiled by W.J. Stokoe (1956) pp. 78-81 Family Mustelidae: Meles meles meles
A Beast Book for the Pocket by Edmund Sandars (6th impression 1957) pp. 77-80
The Badger by Ernest Neal (A Pelican Book, 1958)
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Of course, I still have all three.- prized possessions in my Library. It must have been incredibly boring for my listeners, as I recall giving over-much detail to the bone structure, teeth and spoors and little about the romance of the animal. This was mildly surprising, as I had already fallen for Kenneth Grahame's classic. I re-read the book two years ago and was still captured by it, with a special place for Badger. I purchased two biographies of Grahame - by Peter Green (1959) and Alison Prince (1994) (the latter with a pertinent subtitle of An Innocent in the Wild Wood) - and got to understand the author much better. Then I bought two lovely illustrated editions of the book itself: Kestrel Books (1983), pictures by John Burningham; and Templar Publishing (2007), illustrated by Robert Ingpen. Badger, naturally loomed large in both.
Burningham Ingpen
Not only that, it inspired me to purchase (in first edition, of course!) and read William Horwood's sequels The Wind in Winter (1993), Toad Triumphant (1995), The Willows and Beyond (1996).
I did not watch the BBC Natural World Production in February 2008, on Badgers - Secrets of the Sett narrated by Sir David Attenborough, because I didn't know it was on! I have just found out you can watch it on YouTube, and it starts positively enough: Deep in this Devon valley lives one of the best loved animals...A treat in store. A little further on, Attenborough makes the point that few of us have seen a live badger. Alas, it is true. All my sightings have been at the side, or middle, of the road - victims of the unforgiving combustion engine. The badger, in fact, invokes more than one response, highlighted over the recent years by the Government policy of culling them to try to eradicate TB in cattle. Strong feelings are aroused; I am no farmer, with no livelihood at stake; thus, I am firmly against the policy and only hope a cheaper form of inoculation will be the official line in the future. Badger baiting still goes on - man's thirst for 'blood sports' has not been eradicated - as does the digging out of setts.
John Clare's poem shows up the sadistic delight men show towards the animal.
John Clare (1793-1864)
The Badger
The badger turns and drives them all away.
Though scarcely half as big, demure and small,
He fights with dogs for bones and beats them all.
The heavy mastiff, savage in the fray,
Lies down and licks his feet and turns away.
The bulldog knows his match and waxes cold,
The badger grins and never leaves his hold.
He drives the crowd and follows at their heels
And bites them through—the drunkard swears and reels.
The frighted women take the boys away,
The blackguard laughs and hurries on the fray.
He tries to reach the woods, an awkward race,
But sticks and cudgels quickly stop the chase.
He turns again and drives the noisy crowd
And beats the many dogs in noises loud.
He drives away and beats them every one,
And then they loose them all and set them on.
He falls as dead and kicked by boys and men,
Then starts and grins and drives the crowd again;
Till kicked and torn and beaten out he lies
And leaves his hold and cackles, groans, and dies.
Some keep a baited badger tame as hog
And tame him till he follows like the dog.
They urge him on like dogs and show fair play.
He beats and scarcely wounded goes away.
Lapt up as if asleep, he scorns to fly
And seizes any dog that ventures nigh.
Clapt like a dog, he never bites the men
But worries dogs and hurries to his den.
They let him out and turn a harrow down
And there he fights the host of all the town.
He licks the patting hand, and tries to play
And never tries to bite or run away,
And runs away from the noise in hollow trees
Burnt by the boys to get a swarm of bees.
Edward Thomas (1878-1917)
The Combe
The Combe was ever dark, ancient and dark.
Its mouth is stopped with bramble, thorn, and briar;
And no one scrambles over the sliding chalk
By beech and yew and perishing juniper
Down the half precipices of its sides, with roots
And rabbit holes for steps. The sun of Winter,
The moon of Summer, and all the singing birds
Except the missel-thrush that loves juniper,
Are quite shut out. But far more ancient and dark
The Combe looks since they killed the badger there,
Dug him out and gave him to the hounds, That most ancient Briton of English beasts.
In literature the 'good' badger vies with the 'bad' badger. Beatrix Potter in her The Tale of Mr. Tod, starts off: I have made many books about well-behaved people. Now, for a change, I am going to make a story about two disagreeable people, called Tommy Brock and Mr Tod.
In literature the 'good' badger vies with the 'bad' badger. Beatrix Potter in her The Tale of Mr. Tod, starts off: I have made many books about well-behaved people. Now, for a change, I am going to make a story about two disagreeable people, called Tommy Brock and Mr Tod.
Tommy Brock
Tommy Brock was a short bristly fat waddling person with a grin; he grinned all over his face. He was not nice in his habits. He ate wasp nests and frogs and worms; and he waddled about by moonlight, digging things up. His clothes were very dirty; and as he slept in the day-time, he always went to bed in his boots. Although he appears to get the upper hand with Mr Tod, he completely fails in his attempt to gorge on his captured baby rabbits. What a nasty person! says Peter Rabbit.
It is interesting that, whereas Grahame's Mr Badger is the voice of tradition, standing for respectable class sensibility and wise, conventional behaviour (compared with tradition-flaunting Toad and working-class hooligan weasels), the more recent Wild Wood by Jan Needle (1981) has Badger as a reactionary bully.
I was recently given an endearing embroidery, which is now in my study.
I finish by quoting one of the U.Ks foremost authorities on the badger, Ernest Neal, who died in 1998:
Badgers have been a very successful group, exploiting a great variety of habitats on four continents. So far they have held their own with tenacity and have adapted to changes forced on them by human activities. They have survived man's persecution for many centuries. Today they need our tolerance and understanding if they are to survive along with us.
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