Characteristics, location and selection of diurnal resting dens by Eurasian badgers (Meles meles) in a low density area

Abstract

We describe diurnal resting dens (setts) used by Eurasian badgers Meles meles L. in Coto del Rey, Don Ä ana National Park, south-western Spain, and analyse the factors that determine sett location and selection in relation to territory outlines, soil type and vegetation structure. Setts were located by tracking radio-tagged badgers daily. Badger setts were mainly underground burrow systems with, on average, 2.6 badger entrances. Frequently, badgers constructed setts by enlarging existing rabbit warrens. Setts were located almost everywhere, but badgers preferred easily dug, well-drained soils with good vegetation cover within foraging habitats. A logistic regression model showed that badgers select sites with high surrounding shrub density, large shrubs covering the burrow and close to the centre of the territory (in Mediterranean scrubland habitat). The small size of badger setts in Coto del Rey is common to other low density areas, and probably relates to the extent of use (i.e. age of the burrows and number of badgers using them) of the burrow system. The number of setts per badger territory is related positively to territory size. The similarity of sett densities between this low density population and high density populations, points to a minimum number of setts being required to maximize territory use, and to offer easily-available protection. The preservation and improvement of Mediterranean scrubland vegetation, as well as of large and old shrubs, are important for the future conservation of the badger in Mediterranean landscapes. In these areas, and given the impossibility of distinguishing main setts, the estimation of absolute densities in population surveys using main sett numbers should be avoided in favour of relative indices of abundance.

Reintroduction of the Eurasian badger (Meles meles) in a protected area of northern Italy

“…Even if these range sizes have to be considered approximate, because of the few number of locations, they look similar to those reported for some favourable districts of Britain (21-107 ha, Kruuk 1978;183 ha, Kruuk & Parish 1981). In northern Italian lowlands or in Mediterranean dry habitats home range size is usually larger (Rodriguez et al 1996;Revilla & Palomares 2002;Rosalino et al 2004;Remonti et al 2006 all badgers selected woods (Table III), confirming the results of many researches both in high-density (Thornton 1988;O'Corry-Crowe et al 1993;Neal & Cheeseman 1996) and low-density areas (Virgos & Casanovas, 1999;Revilla et al 2001). Urban areas and cultivated fields were avoided.…”

The density and distribution of badger setts in the Sudety Mountains, Poland

“…This preference is also well known Badger in the Sudety Mountains 521 from other studies (Neal 1975, Zejda and Nesvadbova 1983, Bock 1988, Clements et al 1988, Skinner et al 1991, Reason et al 1993, Feore and Montgomery 1999, Matyáštíc and Bièík 1999, Virgós and Casanovas 1999, Good et al 2001, Revilla et al 2001. Although the Sudety Mountains are dominated by coniferous stands, badger setts occur most frequently in old stands of deciduous and mixed forests.…”

Landscape Features, Home-Range Size and Density of Northern Badgers (Meles meles)

“…Multiple use of setts has also been reported in other areas with low badger density, e.g. by Revilla et al (2001) in Spain, Kowalczyk et al (2004) in Poland and Loureiro et al (2007) in Portugal.…”