Anonymous

Can Badgers Be Dangerous?

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4 Answers

Joe McHugh Profile
Joe McHugh answered
Badgers will attack if they are provoked or threatened but they do not instigate the aggression. Instead, they are shy animals that are actually seldom seen because if they scent or see people, they will hide until they have gone. Being nocturnal animals makes this seclusion easier for them.

If the question was reversed and a badger was to be asked are humans dangerous, the answer would be an unequivocal yes. Badgers are a protected species and yet, even now in the 21st century, badger baiting goes on. The badgers are caught and tormented, and then pitted against dogs. The injuries to both animals are absolutely horrific but all that concerns the barbaric people who instigate this is the money that they can make through betting on what the outcome might be.

Badgers have a really fierce bite and often, to make the fight more evenly matched for the dogs, the badger’s feet or tail will be nailed to the ground. After the fight, if the badger is not already dead, it will be left to die in agony, and the dogs are never taken to the vet because the ‘sport’ is illegal.

A few years ago, there were reports of a badger called Boris who indiscriminately attacked people, making people fear badgers and describe them as being dangerous. In fact, Boris had been brought up in captivity since a cub and so had no natural fear of people. Somebody ‘rescued’ him from the wildlife centre he was in and so he was in an alien situation. Instead of having a natural instinct to hide from people, he would have attacked because he felt threatened. This was an isolated incident and brought about because of Boris’ totally unfamiliar experiences.

A badger’s natural lifespan is around 14 years, but the majority of them don’t make it to this age because of people’s interference with habitats, culling, and roads.
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Anonymous
Anonymous commented
I take exception to the idea that bears and wolves are much more dangerous than badgers. I have often been standing beside a black bear on the Skeena River and have felt no threat whatsoever. I have come face to face with a wolf while walking by Lac du Cradinal, and felt majesty, not fear. Yes, I have felt fear from wild boars, but nothing comes close to the experience of coming face to face with a badger. They are ferocious and charge without any provocation. Anybody who says otherwise is following the textbook answers, not life experience. Badgers do not need to be provoked. Their charge is fierce and you are lucky if you escape alive. I just barely escaped by the skin of my teeth today, and no the critter was not provoked in anyway whatsoever. Hope this clarifies things.
Mally Jones Profile
Mally Jones answered
Yes, they are dangerous, they will only attack if threatened or frightened they are not the most dangerous animal in the world! If your in a forest they are not even close to the 1st thing you need to worry about! I'd say bears and wolves would be the 1st thing you need to worry about!
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Anonymous Profile
Anonymous answered
Badgers have lived in Britain for at least 250,000 years and the latest surveys show that there a quarter of a million badgers in the UK, distributed across the country. Badgers live in groups of up to 14 adults and dig out and live in a maze of underground tunnels and chambers called setts. Some setts are reported to be over 100 years old and each sett becomes a permanent home for badgers all over the country.
Badgesr can live up to 14 years, but are likely to be killed by hunting or on roads beore they reach this age.
Badgers can be quite aggressive to humans, but they are not naturally aggressive animals and their aggression is only stemed from a few of predators. Badger are now considered a protected species - The Protection of Badgers Act 1992 legistates that it is an offence to kill, injure or take a badger, or to damage a sett.
Rachel Sharp Profile
Rachel Sharp answered
Badgers are known as being tenacious hunters. They are carnivores and feed on small animals like rats, mice, squirrels, voles and gophers. They often dig for their prey, tunnelling after rodents that live in the ground.

Perhaps one reason that badgers have a fierce reputation is their bite. A badger's lower jaw is articulated to the top one in a way that makes it almost impossible for the jaw to dislocate. This helps badgers to hold on to their prey and not let go.

There are numerous types of badgers, each with distinct characteristics. The honey badger, which lives in Africa, is particularly fearless. It eats venomous snakes and raids beehives for honey.

Despite its reputation, badgers are not overtly aggressive towards humans and like best to be left alone. That's a good idea, considering the badger's sharp teeth and claws! In the UK, Badgers are protected by the Protection of Badgers Act, which was passed in 1992.

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