Badgers - Secrets of the Sett Natural World

Deep in this Devon valley

lives one of the best-loved wild animals in Britain.

There are over 300,000 of them living across the country,

yet surprisingly few people have ever seen a badger alive.

Even for scientists, much of their life remains a mystery.

Now, using cameras hidden underground,

we can, for the first time, paint a picture of what life must be like

for a family of Devon badgers.

Badgers have lived in valleys like this

since the end of the last ice age, long before people settled here.

In those days, the landscape was covered in trees

and so woodland wildlife prospered.

More than half the badger's diet consists of earthworms,

so deep, rich Devon soils make this a particularly good place to live.

But what is good for badgers is also good for people.

As ancient wood gave way to farmland,

the valley was transformed, suiting badgers even better.

Badger trails still criss-cross the land, but now they mark fields

rather than forest.

Nowadays, they snag themselves on fencing, not just twigs.

Many of their paths may have been used since Roman times.

But all trails still lead back to the remnants of ancient wood

that's survived where it's too steep to plough.

This is the badger's refuge from the modern world.

It's where they live, as they have always done.

The old boar is the dominant male of this group,

which includes a couple of younger males,

a dominant sow and three other females.

Until now, we've known little about their home.

Not much to see on the surface,

just a scattering of holes and heaps of soil.

But down below, they dig a labyrinth,

an underground bunker that's been key to their success.

Three storeys deep, extending over 60 metres of woodland,

with 300 metres of tunnels and chambers.

Over centuries, they've shifted hundreds of tonnes of soil,

as the sett has expanded and contracted

in line with the family's fortunes.

Most of a badger's life is spent down here.

So this is a privileged glimpse into a secret world.

PAWS PATTER

By March, in the deepest part of the sett,

the dominant sow has already given birth.

Three cubs are common in a litter,

but not all may survive to emerge above ground.

These cubs are now just five weeks old

and their eyes are beginning to open.

Already, they wear the distinctive stripe of their kind.

Their first year will be the most dangerous, as they leave the safety

of their sett and venture into the woods and fields beyond.

A great house has dominated this Devon valley

for over 1,000 years, and perhaps long before.

The original Anglo-Saxon settlement mentioned in the Domesday Book,

was given to a soldier in William's conquering army.

At that time, the badger was known as brock,

but the new French overlords had their own name.

In France, the badger was known as "the digger", le becheur.

In 1228, the valley was inherited by a crusader knight,

who built a church to celebrate his safe return.

The 13th-century bell has been a familiar sound

to countless generations of people and badgers.

But only because they have learned to live in our midst.

Here, one badger family defends a territory of 100 acres or so.

From hilltop to hilltop, nearly half a mile across.

Once their boundaries were defined by natural features,

now they're man-made.

A few hundred metres from the wood,

the medieval mill pond marks one edge of their foraging area.

The stream, converted into a leat,

leads to a waterfall where the mill wheel once turned.

This marks another boundary.

But the most dangerous part of their territory...

is this.

Increasing traffic, even along country lanes,

puts them at risk every night.

Which is why only in the quietest places, like this,

do they emerge before dark.

With the cubs safe below ground, the adults set off on well-worn trails,

night after night, leading to their favourite feeding places.

These badgers have an advantage.

The owners of the farmhouse not far from their sett provide them

with the first course of their evening meal. Peanuts.

Throughout history, different people have

seen badgers in different lights.

Many people love them, a few loathe them.

In the classic story of Wind In The Willows,

Badger was portrayed as wise and kind.

Yet among countrymen, they're often blamed

for all manner of destruction and disease.

The truth is, that while badgers dig holes where people don't want them

and damage crops in pursuit of a meal,

they're shy and avoid human contact.

While the latest scientific research reveals

that they're not the principal cause of Bovine TB,

the fact they can carry the disease

still fuels calls for a country-wide cull.

They were once relentlessly persecuted for sport,

dug out and baited by dogs.

Now they're protected by law.

At seven weeks old, their mother can leave the cubs

for a short while, so she can forage close to the sett.

They will remain here in the dark for another two months.

BUZZARD CALLS

Outside, the days are getting longer,

and other woodland animals are getting down to business.

Buzzards defend the woods from their rivals.

CROW CAWS

Underground, by late afternoon,

young male badgers are already awake.

THEY CHATTER

Wrestling has a purpose, sorting out dominance within the social group.

Only the strongest will win the right to mate.

Female badgers usually come into season

shortly after their cubs were born in February.

Spring is peak time for mating,

but it can continue well into autumn.

The dominant boar usually fathers the most cubs.

Life at the top is not easy.

Challenges from younger males can come

from within the family or outside.

An intruding male has ventured into the territory.

His scent marks him out as a stranger.

Females with young will be especially nervous.

A new dominant male might kill any cubs in the sett.

The old boar is quickly onto him.

THEY CHATTER

Fights seldom last long, but they can be vicious.

This old boar has fought many battles

and has the scars to prove it.

By the end of March, most animals are getting ready for a new brood.

The resident tawny owl's hard work has already begun.

Some creatures cut corners when it comes to raising a family.

Foxes are lazy diggers.

An abandoned entrance on the fringe of the badger sett

provides a ready-made den.

Fox cubs are born around the same time as badgers.

Their relationship varies from tolerance to open aggression.

Both are known to have killed each other's cubs,

yet sometimes they've been seen playing together.

Badgers usually avoid the fox's den,

perhaps disliking their strong smell.

Wood mice live closer.

Perhaps being safe from owls outweighs the risk from badgers.

The badger cubs are growing fast on their mother's milk,

safe underground.

Once, wolves and bears were their only enemy, now it's man.

Despite being protected, every year, people still kill

a quarter of all badgers.

Especially in spring.

Badgers have learned to cross roads at the quietest times.

But in late March, when the clocks go forward, they get caught out.

And their death rate can double.

If a mother dies, so too will her young cubs.

A dry spring puts badgers under extra pressure.

Worms will be in short supply.

Ploughing helps, but there is competition for the worms.

Mistle thrush chicks eat nothing

else at this time of the year.

Dawn is getting earlier, the sun growing stronger,

and the woods burst into life.

Wild garlic, also known as "ramsons",

carpet the copse above the pond,

filling the valley with their pungent smell.

On the other side of the valley, in the badger woods,

bluebells provide the backdrop.

BEE BUZZES

As days get longer, nights get shorter.

Less time for badgers to feed, and so they're eager to get out,

especially when the weather is dry.

It's just as well that April brings showers.

Badgers welcome rain.

Worms come to the surface in wet weather and so are easier to find.

And their thick coats will keep them warm and dry.

Badgers are easily spooked...

DOG BARKS

..partly because their eyesight is so poor.

Below ground, their world is one of total darkness.

Although we can see them, they must rely on touch and smell.

Grooming and sniffing

helps them identify each other and binds the group together.

Badgers keep their homes very clean.

They even make their beds.

Rolling up their bedding like this has never been seen before.

Maybe they're drying it out, which will reduce parasites

and make the hay last longer.

By early May, the females are starting to wean their cubs.

But one youngster is still determined

to get at its mother's milk, even upside down.

Now it's time for all the cubs to leave the safety of the sett

and emerge above ground for the first time.

All three cubs have survived so far.

This is a big moment in their young lives,

exposed to the perils of life outside.

But an exciting one.

Although it's an anxious time for parents,

cubs soon get a taste for their new-found freedom.

It will be another month before they venture beyond the woods.

The explosion of early-summer blossom in the valley

is a hint of the bounty to come.

Wild cherry trees mark the badgers' territorial boundary

alongside the old mill pond.

Elder flowers are also common alongside their trails

and around their setts.

And the orchard is blooming too.

Later in the year, apples, cherries and elderberries will feature large

on the badger's menu, but right now, badger cubs must learn their way

around the family plot.

And that means following mother closely.

Their movements don't go unnoticed.

Young tawny owls soon learn that badgers can disturb mice and voles.

It's not easy keeping track of mum.

The cub's sensitive nose is being bombarded by many new smells.

If it loses its way, it must retrace its steps,

identify its mother's trail, then just follow its nose.

Scent is vital to a badger's survival.

How to tell friend from foe

is a skill a cub will need to master quickly.

They scent-mark frequently.

A gland at the base of the tail produces a musky odour

that's unique to this family.

It's how they identify each other and,

when they deposit dung in latrines along their boundary lines,

it's how they give their territory a special stamp.

There's lots to learn. And even near the sett,

a youngster's natural curiosity can lead it astray.

MANY CROWS CAW

The wood can be a scary place for a cub on its own.

Badgers bristle when excited or anxious.

It helps them look big and brave.

Discovering a family trail,

the cub eventually finds its way back to the sett.

Home, but still alone, the cub searches for its mother.

Her scent lingers,

but she has gone.

While the cub was away,

the family left the woods to forage for worms in the fields beyond.

Badgers feel safest on the darkest nights,

and will then venture far from the cover of trees to feed.

The cub is still searching the empty sett.

Badgers are wary if they discover anything new

and surprisingly nervous.

This one may never have encountered a big pheasant feeding after dark.

It's unusual.

SNORING

Back at the sett, the search has proved exhausting for the lone cub.

In the early hours, the family makes a noisy return.

It must be a great relief to the cub.

Such scenes of large, tight-knit family groups

are found nowhere else in the world.

Outside the British Isles, from France to Japan,

badgers live a more solitary life.

Midsummer - the longest days of the year.

It's a busy time for farmers.

For badgers, the hours spent underground,

waiting for the short period of dark when they can find food,

must seem endless.

Awake early, there's not much they can do,

but there's nothing a badger likes better than a really good scratch.

Hay-making is a bonus for some wildlife.

For the resident kestrel, mice and voles will be easier to find.

It's a golden opportunity for the badgers.

Short grass will make it easier for them to find worms.

And sometimes they harvest hay before the farmer.

Collecting it into a ball,

they drag the dried grass backwards, sometimes over hundreds of metres.

The fresh bedding must be brought in before dark,

otherwise heavy dew will dampen the grass.

Manoeuvring bundles of hay in the darkness can't be easy.

As the heat of day fades,

fox cubs enjoy themselves,

sharpening the skills they'll need to survive.

And they're not the only ones.

On June evenings, young badgers often emerge to play,

well before more timid adults appear.

Back in the sett, they're restless.

After 18 hours underground,

young males get hungry, thirsty and irritable.

The old boar makes better use of the time.

He mates with any female he can find.

They've been awake for hours.

Finally, past 10 o'clock, it's dark enough for them to get out and feed.

But this year, they have a problem.

The shortest nights have coincided with the driest weather.

After weeks without rain, the ground is baked hard and worms are scarce.

For the young cubs, this is a critical time.

If the drought continues, starvation is a real threat.

They're forced into eating the least appetising food - slugs.

In hot weather, slugs will leave the ground

and hide in the crevices of trees.

Finding them can sometimes take badgers to new heights.

They're surprisingly agile when they're young.

When worms are scarce, badgers will also eat small mammals,

the eggs of ground-nesting birds,

roots, bulbs, cereals and beetles.

Their ability to survive on such a wide variety of food

is another of their key strengths. WASPS DRONE

Few creatures dare tackle wasps.

It's not the adults they're after, it's the grubs.

Getting at their underground nest is a painful business

and a badger must endure many stings.

Eventually, the wasps win.

But wasp grubs are an important food in dry weather, so she'll be back.

At times like this, the free food available

at the farmhouse is a real bonus.

This is also one of the few occasions

when badgers and foxes compete for a meal.

Usually they just avoid each other.

The fox cub seems confident enough - until it's outnumbered.

The tactic to get the most peanuts seems simply to lie on top of them,

and then shuffle backwards.

Rain has not fallen for over a month,

but the valley stream is still running...just.

In late August, the weather finally breaks.

THUNDER RUMBLES

At least the badgers have a safe retreat from the storm.

And a youngster can cover its ears.

It's an opportunity for the old boar

to teach the male cub a trick or two.

But the cub is now old enough to give as good as he gets.

At long last, the fruits of summer are beginning to ripen.

Tasty wild cherries.

Juicy elderberries.

And badgers love blackberries.

This is why blackberries disappear low down in the hedge first.

For months, the badgers' evening trail

has taken them through the orchard.

Now, the windfall begins.

While badgers are known to have a taste for apples,

this is the first time they have been caught carrying them home.

Blackberry and apple -

life can't be bad for badgers at this season.

Down by the mill pond, the wild cherries are also falling.

This glut of good food is essential.

Badgers will eat all they can before the cold weather sets in.

A chill wind is a reminder that summer is now over.

It's been a good year for the badgers here.

The family has done well.

While all three cubs are now independent,

the smallest still remains close to its mother.

Autumn is also the last chance for the dominant boar

to mate with one of the other females.

The first gale of the season sweeps through the valley,

stripping the leaves, and the last nuts and berries from the trees.

Dusk is getting earlier. And in the wake of the wind

the badgers know there will be rich pickings in the wood.

But people increasingly intrude into the tranquillity of rural life.

DULL BANG Badgers are shy, nervous creatures.

Just imagine emerging from your home into a battle ground.

At least badgers have somewhere to hide.

Their bunker is a safe retreat from a noisy modern world.

They will spend more time down here as the winter months draw in.

In freezing weather, those all-important worms are,

once again, difficult to find.

But they have fed well over the last few months

and are now at their maximum weight.

Badgers don't hibernate.

But while large males may continue to forage,

the females become increasingly sleepy,

surviving on their stored fat.

The turn of the year is an important time for badgers.

While people celebrate the start of Christmas,

most badgers are fast asleep.

Yet this is possibly the most remarkable time of their year.

The embryos that each female carries

have been in suspended animation for months.

Conceived at different times, each may have a different father,

but only now do they all begin to develop.

Around seven weeks later, all the cubs are born at the same time.

Is this the real secret of the badger's success?

Genetically varied, yet born together,

they stand a better chance of survival.

Now the dominant sow has a new family,

the future of her year-old son will soon be decided.

As winter gives way to spring, the fights for dominance begin.

Last autumn they play-fought, now it's deadly serious.

Although mature, a youngster stands little chance against an older boar.

The young male has no alternative - now he must leave home.

He might dig a new hole on the edge of the family sett,

or be forced to leave the valley.

Only one of the three cubs born last year

is likely to see a second summer.

Year on year, the valley shapes their lives,

yet badgers also help shape the nature of this valley,

perhaps adding to the abundance of Devon's county flower.

As they scrape the ground for worms, primroses can spread in their wake.

Even more dramatic is their influence on wild cherry.

Cherry seeds don't germinate easily.

But when eaten and dumped in a badger latrine,

they find perfect conditions to thrive.

It still takes weeks of freezing and soaking before they begin to grow.

So, along the edge of their territory,

badgers have inadvertently planted

the magnificent stands of wild cherry found here.

This remarkable glimpse into the secret world of the badger

reveals a creature that's survived against all odds.

Despite centuries of terrible persecution,

they've outlived bears and wolves.

Much of the primeval land they foraged is now farmed,

used for housing, or divided by road and rail.

Yet there are still undisturbed places, such as this,

where badgers continue to enjoy their sociable life.

Nowhere else in the world do badgers live in such large groups,

exploiting such a varied diet and digging such impressive bunkers.

Badgers are known to have lived in Britain

for at least a quarter of a million years,

long before we intruded into their world.

If any creature can survive the challenges the future might bring,

surely, it's the badger.