Summary
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1.
Food and foraging behaviour of the European badger (Meles meles L.) are described for a study area in south-central England, with the aim of understanding the biological function of badgers' spatial organisation. Animals were followed with the aid of radio-location and observed through infra-red night glasses.
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2.
The diet consisted largely of one species of earthworm, Lumbricus terrestris.
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3.
Worm abundance was measured by formalin-sampling of different vegetation types, and prey appeared to be super-abundant.
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4.
Prey availability was restricted; badgers caught worms on the surface at night, where worms could be found in small and temporally highly unstable patches. Factors influencing the existence of these ‘worm-patches’ are discussed.
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A hypothesis is presented which suggests that the physiography of the area determined worm-patch dispersal, and thereby the range size of the badgers, whilst the number of badgers in each range, i.e. the group size, is determined by the ‘quality’ of the food patches.
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6.
It is suggested that one of the selective advantages of a larger group size is the joint territorial defense.
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Kruuk, H. Foraging and spatial organisation of the European badger, Meles meles L.. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 4, 75–89 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00302562
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00302562