Badger Behaviour, Conservation & Rehabilitation

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Badger Behaviour, Conservation & Rehabilitation

70 Years of Getting to Know Badgers

George E. Pearce

Paperback
eBook

“George has an extraordinary and instinctive understanding of badger behaviour”
—Mike Hughes, Badger Trust

Subject: ecology conservation zoology mammals Series: pelagic-monographs 1 September 2015

ISBN

9781907807046

Tags:

badger
behaviour
biology
conservation
ecological consultant
ecology
mammals
natural history
rehabilitation

Description

A fascinating insight into the badger’s world. Badger biology, life in the sett, rescue & rehabilitation, consultancy, badgers & farming, and badger-watching with George Pearce – an expert on badgers.

George has surveyed over 700 sites, visited 1,500 setts, been consulted as an expert in 120 animal cruelty cases and rehabilitated more than 100 badgers. Brought up on a farm, he earned his living as a farmer for 45 years. Today, he is a badger consultant and one of the foremost experts on the British mammal he admires the most.

For many years, the RSPCA, police, veterinary surgeons and conservation groups all over the country have relied on George Pearce’s knowledge and his instinctive feel for animal behaviour. Now you can share in his experience and enthusiasm for badgers from his 70 years of badger watching and his vast professional wildlife experience.

Readership

Naturalist, wildlife enthusiast, field centre, mammalogist, ecological consultant, farmer, wildlife trust, conservation volunteer

Introduction

1. A lifetime’s experience

Marooned: a bundle of badgers

2 .Badger biology

Scented signposts; What’s on the menu?; Follow the tracks; Clues in the latrines; Spoilheaps: mountains of information

3. The world of the sett

Secret world of the sett; Tunnels: DIY larders Reproduction Head over heels – but it gave me a clue

4. Badgers in the family

Badgers – every one a character; Hiya, captivating Hiya; Bodger, the one and only Bodger

5. Badger rescue

Road victim with a sad secret; Road victims: what you should do; A badger in a sack and the owl that wheezed; Help them, but don’t hang on to them

6. Badger consultancy

Ducks’ legs and raindrops; Makeway, makeway; Have they read the book?; Some of the things I am asked to do; You name it, they’ll dig there; Sett closures and artificial setts; Tackling the big jobs

7. Badgers and farming

Too much muscle; “Killed a hundred, he’ as”; Carry on farming!; Bovine tuberculosis (bTB); Badgers and bTB

8. Badger-watching

Sett-watching tips; Sit quietly!; The weather; Feeding badgers ; Seeing in the dark; Hides

9. Final thoughts

Useful contacts

Index

Reviews

Pearce reveals a remarkable depth of knowledge about these mammals. As well as discussing badger ecology, he offers advice on many topics not covered by other authors, such as how to conduct surveys and build artificial setts. His down-to-earth manner owes more to the style of the ecological pioneer John Seymour than to the 'father' of badger biology, Ernest Neal. —David Dixon, BBC Wildlife Magazine
A must read for anyone who has an interest in badgers. —Jackie Clark, Strathclyde Badger & Mammal Group
George Pearce reveals an uncanny knack to be in the right place at the right time to answer myriad badger questions. —Prof David Macdonald, Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Oxford

About the Author

George Pearce, who died in 2015, surveyed over 700 sites, visited 1,500 setts, was consulted as an expert in 120 animal cruelty cases and rehabilitated more than 100 badgers. Brought up on a farm, he earned his living as a farmer for 45 years.