Lucky day at work today (25 February 2025)! We were headed outside to eat lunch on the deck when I noticed a very large hill of freshly dug soil...and an American Badger resting right next to it!
The badger mostly spent time lying in the sun, but it looked around a few times, so here are a couple of different views (below). Note: We watched the badger from far away, so these photos are a little misleading. I took them with a large zoom lens and then cropped the photos heavily.
Hooray for coastal prairies and mustelids!
This is the best live picture that I have ever seen of a badger! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteWow! Wonderful pictures!
ReplyDeleteAll that digging is tiring work! ; -)
ReplyDeleteThanks, all!
ReplyDeleteHollis -- that same thought also crossed my mind while watching the badger. It's an anthropomorphic view, but sometimes the badger's body language suggested a heavy sigh, lying out flat and dropping its chin onto the ground. It felt like the equivalent of, "Whew, that was a lot of work...now I just want to rest here for a little while."
Another possibility -- "Hmppphhh...I can't believe I didn't catch a gopher after all of that digging."
Or I suppose the opposite is possible, too -- "Time for an after-gopher nap!"
We hardly ever see badgers, so every observation helps expand my thinking about what their lives might be like.
:) Jackie
Great photos Jackie!
ReplyDelete