Animals - Animal types and traits - Badgers - Mammals - Animal burrows
What do badgers use their underground burrows for?
Correct!
European badgers live in underground burrow systems known in English as “setts”. Such burrows consist of tunnels, entrances and various chambers and serve primarily as a place to sleep, a safe retreat and a place to raise young. Badgers are excellent diggers. With their strong front paws and long claws they can create extensive gait systems. Particularly large main buildings can be used over many generations and can be expanded again and again. Some such systems exist for very long periods of time. The climate underground is also an advantage. In deeper areas of a badger's burrow, temperature and humidity fluctuate significantly less than on the surface. Studies show that this balanced microclimate can be particularly important for raising young animals. The young are born in winter and spend most of their first months of life underground before leaving the burrow for the first time in spring. It is also interesting that a badger family does not necessarily have just one den. Within a territory there can be several burrows and resting places that are used with different frequencies.
Badger burrows are branched underground systems and serve not only as a shelter, but also as an important place for rest and offspring.
