Following Brock's Trail

On a recent walk around Braslou with Colin and Elizabeth we encountered many signs that badgers are thriving in the area. The hole above went down for nearly a metre in the chalk, then took a sharp right turn.

The landscape is laid out before you on the chalky hill behind Braslou where the badger has dug several individual dens, although there was no indication there was a family with a multi-chambered and exited sett.

The badger has left clear footprints in the muddy clay track that runs up the hill through the fields. You can see how long the claws are and that gives you some idea of how the animal has excavated the sizeable chunks of stone in the first photo.

Down below the hill the soil changes entirely to sand and the moles are obviously working hard. The badger has walked through the area on the path, again leaving clear footprints.

Sadly I've seen lots of badgers in France, but they've all been dead at the side of the road. I've never seen a live badger in the wild in France. In fact, I've only ever seen a live badger once, galloping across the road in the middle of the night in Wales. It looked kind of like this famous image of a badger running.