On May 3rd 1998 the group received an emergency call from the RSPCA after they received reports from members of the public about three Badger cubs walking around on top of a sett in some distress. Members of the group attended the scene and found three very weak Badger cubs about three months old. One unfortunately died at the scene from malnutrition, and the other two were taken back to one of the member's homes, where they were placed on a hot water bottle and blankets. One cub was able to eat and drink a little on its own, but the other had to be encouraged by feeding it from the finger of a glove.
To our relief, they survived the first few nights and gradually got stronger and were able to feed themselves. They were then moved into our hospital area which is equipped with an infra-red heatlamp. They remained here for about 4 weeks until their strength increased, when they were then moved again into a larger enclosure, where they could come out into the fresh air when they wished. In the meantime, plans were being made for their release.
The group contacted Pauline Kidner of Secret World in Somerset, who passed the details of the cubs on to Colin Seddon of the RSPCA Wildlife unit at Taunton. He suggested integrating the two cubs with six other orphaned cubs to make a larger group which could then be released together. The group had been offered the use of a large area of woodland as a release site, and after inspection by Colin, it was agreed that the group would construct an artificial sett in the wood, and the eight cubs would be released there. The two cubs were then taken to Taunton by Colin, to undergo the process of integration with the other orphaned cubs. During this process, all the cubs received three blood tests for Tuberculosis (TB) over a period of three weeks, and all have tested negative for the disease. They have also been tattooed with identity codes, and have been fitted with "Identichips" (tiny electronic identity tags fitted harmlessly under the skin, which can be read by special electronic units used by vets).
The group constructed the artificial sett during a weekend in July, and on August 10th the cubs were brought back from Taunton to the woodland site by Colin Seddon, and were released into the artificial sett. On the night after their release, they dug their own new entrance to the artificial sett. They were fed and monitored on a daily basis by members of the group until January 1999, when the feeding and monitoring was reduced to alternate days. At the beginning of Spring 1999 the feeding was ceased as the cubs are now completely self-sufficient. We now watch them on an occasional basis only. Update - October 2001 - The badgers have now had their own cubs, and now form a thriving badger community. We continue to monitor their progress on an occasional basis, and are very happy at the result we were able to achieve.
Below are some pictures of Jack and Jill taken shortly after they were able to feed themselves.
To our relief, they survived the first few nights and gradually got stronger and were able to feed themselves. They were then moved into our hospital area which is equipped with an infra-red heatlamp. They remained here for about 4 weeks until their strength increased, when they were then moved again into a larger enclosure, where they could come out into the fresh air when they wished. In the meantime, plans were being made for their release.
The group contacted Pauline Kidner of Secret World in Somerset, who passed the details of the cubs on to Colin Seddon of the RSPCA Wildlife unit at Taunton. He suggested integrating the two cubs with six other orphaned cubs to make a larger group which could then be released together. The group had been offered the use of a large area of woodland as a release site, and after inspection by Colin, it was agreed that the group would construct an artificial sett in the wood, and the eight cubs would be released there. The two cubs were then taken to Taunton by Colin, to undergo the process of integration with the other orphaned cubs. During this process, all the cubs received three blood tests for Tuberculosis (TB) over a period of three weeks, and all have tested negative for the disease. They have also been tattooed with identity codes, and have been fitted with "Identichips" (tiny electronic identity tags fitted harmlessly under the skin, which can be read by special electronic units used by vets).
The group constructed the artificial sett during a weekend in July, and on August 10th the cubs were brought back from Taunton to the woodland site by Colin Seddon, and were released into the artificial sett. On the night after their release, they dug their own new entrance to the artificial sett. They were fed and monitored on a daily basis by members of the group until January 1999, when the feeding and monitoring was reduced to alternate days. At the beginning of Spring 1999 the feeding was ceased as the cubs are now completely self-sufficient. We now watch them on an occasional basis only. Update - October 2001 - The badgers have now had their own cubs, and now form a thriving badger community. We continue to monitor their progress on an occasional basis, and are very happy at the result we were able to achieve.
Below are some pictures of Jack and Jill taken shortly after they were able to feed themselves.
