Badger News

• All the Badger Names
• The Radio-badger - by Carlo Biancardi
• The Taming of the Badger - by Claudio Gnoli
• "Dog badger" or "pig badger"? - by Carlo Biancardi
• Stinkhorn fungus and badger setts - by Paddy Sleeman
• The urban badger - by Carlo Biancardi

The Radio-badger - by Carlo Biancardi (September 2001)

Cléo is a sweet young Swiss badger. She was caught in a morning of August near Payerne and radio-tagged, to follow her movements during the night. Cléo is now part of a project, carried out by Emmanuel Do Linh San of the University of Neuchâtel, on badgers in the Swiss Juras.

The Taming of the Badger - by Claudio Gnoli (June 2001)

"Asses are made to bear, and so are you!"
William Shakespeare - The Taming of the Shrew, II:1

"Dog badger" or "pig badger"? - by Carlo Biancardi (May 2001)

Former hunters and poachers, and people who live in rural areas, make a distinction between two "kind" of badgers:

• The "pig badger" (tass purscel, Luino; tasso porcino, Tuscany) or "cat badger" (tass gatt, Lodi), very fat (12 – 16 kg), long hairs, edible.
• The "dog badger" (tass canin, Luino; tass can, Lodi) or "fox badger" (tasso volpino, Tuscany), thin (8-10 kg), short hairs, inedible.

This classification has no systematic or biological meaning. Probably, as suggested by H. Griffiths, they are individuals that have been caught in different periods of the year (badgers tend to increase their weight in autumn) or, perhaps, are individuals of different ages.

However, we can notice that this kind of classification of badgers, already described in hunting handbooks of the XVI century, is widespread, being present also in Croatia (reported by H. griffiths), and present in the rural culture yet.

References

• BIANCARDI C. M. & RINETTI L., 1995 - Un simpatico mammifero dei nostri boschi: il Tasso - Il Rondò, 8, pp. 79-85.
• BIANCARDI C. M. & RINETTI L., 1999 - Badgers (Meles meles L., 1758) in a mountain area north of Varese (Lombardy - Italy) - Small Carnivore Conservation, 21, pp. 3-5.
• GANDOLFI A., 1995 - Un tasso sfortunato - Oasis, 97, p. 91.
• GRIFFITHS H. I. & THOMAS D. H., 1997 - The conservation and management of the European badger (Meles meles), vol.90 - Council of Europe, Strasbourg, p. 77.

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Stinkhorn fungus and badger setts - by Paddy Sleeman (April 2001)

Stinkhorn fungus, which smells awful like a sweet cadaver, and looks like an erect human penis, appears to have a mutualistic relationship with badgers and blowflies (Sleeman et al, 1997). It has been found at badgers setts in Ireland, England, Scotland, Italy, and Luxembourg (Sleeman et al 1996 & 2000). The dog stinkhorn which is rarer has also been found at badgers setts. Perhaps they occur at setts in other countries as well?

References:

• SLEEMAN D.P., JONES P. & CRONIN J.N., 1996 - Records of stinkhorn fungi (Phallus impudicus Pers) from Ireland England and Italy. Bull.Ir.Biogeog.Soc., 19,pp. 148-150.
• SLEEMAN D.P., JONES P. & CRONIN J.N., 1997 - Investigations of an association between the stinkhorn fungus and badgers setts. J.Nat.Hist., 31, pp. 983-992.
• SLEEMAN D.P. & JONES P., 2000 - Records of stinkhorn fungi (Phallus impudicus Pers) and dog stinkhorn (Mutinus caninus Pers) from Ireland, Scotland, England and Luxemborg. Bull.Ir.Biogeog. Soc., 24, pp. 168-170.

Links:

• Stinkhorn fungus (Phallus impudicus)
• Mutinus caninus

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The urban badger - by Carlo Biancardi (March 2001)

It was the end of February of 1998, when the poor badger of the photo was run down in the suburbs of Milan, the biggest and most industrialized town of Italy. The animal was found by the volunteers of LAC (Association against the hunt) on the tram line.

The autopsy was carried out by dr. Millefanti and dr. Granata, of the veterinary surgery of Gaggiano (MI). The exam of the badger's body showed a great fracture of his skull and the breakage of his liver. The badger's stomach contained very few vegetal materials partially digested.

The poor badger, an 8 kg ponderous male, which came from heaven knows where, has found a new home at the Civic Museum of Natural History of Milan.

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