Badger; Northern California
Badger reacts to something.
This badger was sunning itself when something caused it to raise its head and look. His left ear looks up a bit chewed up.
Tag: badger photo
Badger Cubs at Play
I checked this badger den for the better part of two weeks in May of 2009. For a couple of days one of the cubs was often seen with this bit of fur or skin in its mouth. I don’t think I ever saw them more than about 10 feet from the mouth of the den. Yet, a coyote managed to capture and kill one of the cubs. I don’t think they had learned to fear anything up to that point. Some of life’s lessons come at a steep price.
Mother Badger with Ground Squirrel
Several photographers, including myself, waited for an hour or more for this mother badger to return to her den. It was close to sundown when she returned with this live ground squirrel. She was moving through the sagebrush at a fast pace. The conversation going on got me distracted from what I was doing. I hadn’t increased the ISO as it got darker. The result was that I shot this at 1/320th of a second. The badger is just bordering on being blurred.
Badger, Yellowstone National Park
In the spring of 2009 this mother badger and her three cubs were very popular photo subjects in Yellowstone. Her den was fairly close to the road. She crossed the road often and I worried that she’d get hit. I don’t think she ever did get hit, at least at that den site, but an awful lot of wildlife is killed on Yellowstone’s roads each year.
Badger Cubs
Here is another photo of the badger cubs I found a few days ago. The dominant cub is clearly visible. The other cub is partially obscured by vegetation with its back to the viewer. Note that when viewed from behind its fur is almost indistinguishable from the mound of earth.
