The Mole had long wanted to make the I acquaintance of the Badger. He seemed, by all accounts, to be such an important personage and, though rarely visible, to make his unseen influence felt by everybody about the place.

Kenneth Grahame

Badgers have an interesting reputation, depending on who you are. Generally seen as taciturn little fellows with a penchant for being territorial, they’re rarely seen as the sort of creatures you want to keep immediate company with. Badger Day wants to change that perspective, and eliminate certain myths about these creatures and their interactions with humans.

History of Badger Day

Badgers have a long history and reputation among humans, and there are few who have actually seen one alive and in person. Badger Day raises awareness of the need to protect badgers from human predation and brings issues of habitat and health concerns to the common man. The word for Badger comes from the French ‘Bucher’, which means digger, brought from their tendency to burrow underground and create sets where they raise their families and stay during the day. Badgers, as it turns out, are largely nocturnal, explaining why they’re so rarely seen by most people.

While these creatures are largely harmless and are an important part of their ecosystems, human perceptions of these creatures has led to large culls and ‘badger disposal’ attempts to remove them. One reason for this is the ongoing debate about whether or not badgers are responsible for the spread of tuberculosis, a disease also known as consumption that is ultimately fatal to humans if untreated. While the debate has yet to reach a conclusion the drive to cull out badger populations is already underway, and only with hard work to raise people’s awareness about these noble creatures can we save the badger.

10 fun facts about our animal kingdom namesake

1. Badgers can run up to 16-19 miles per hour which is the average speed of electric mobility scooters.
2. Eating rotten fruit causes Badgers to get drunk.
3. The Welsh word for Badger is ‘moch deaer’ which translates as ‘earth pig’.
4. They normally live between 4-10 years but have been known to live up to 26 years when in captivity.
5. They can weigh up to 40 pounds which is about the same weight as 120 medium sized bananas or an average human leg.
6. Badgers form clans, called cetes, of about 2-15 Badgers.
7. Badgers refuse to defecate in their setts, series of underground tunnels, and instead create a shallow pit on the edge of their territory for lavatory business.
8. Badgers were eaten in WWII Britain and surprisingly are still eaten in Russia to this day.
9. Around 50,000 get killed by cars each year.
10. In 2018, Apple added the Badger emoji in their IOS 12 update.