Badger Olympics - 1/22/2002

Well..... to answer a note....

I mean, just what does one train a badger to do?

Dig?

Our badger technically has two enclosures. There's one at the front of the zoo which she spends the day in. But at night we move her to a more secure enclosure that has a heated den (she's 13, and most badgers live til around 12) and several other amenities including guaranteed protection from the roving bobcats, coyotes and rat toons we have on campus at night (the day enclosure doesn't have a top on it, just walls, it also protects her from sick people and anything carrying a disease that would happen to wander by as she's still an adept hunter).

Now there is the dilemma of moving her twice daily.

How does one move a badger?

We used to be able to carry her in our arms (or they did, this was before my time). But as she grew older, she hamstrung our curator, so, uh, we don't do that anymore. Badgers, while incredibly cute, can be vicious little shits if they put their minds and claws and teeth to it. It's a little furry freight train, I tell ya.

She has a dog carrier/crate that we transport her in, and normally she's pretty good about going into it. At night we'll put some of her food in it and she knows that if she goes in that she'll get part of dinner and is heading back to the heating pad, so no problems there unless she's feeling playful. In the morning she's normally wanting to go out so will go right into the carrier, but sometimes she will not cooperate, for a number of reasons ranging from not feeling good to being a little shit just because she's a badger and can BE a little shit. But lately, we've been having to chase her more often and that's a pain in the ass for us and physically taxing on an ancient badger - or we'd have to leave her in her night house for the entire day and that's just not stimulating (though we understand some days she just wants to stay where it's quiet and warm and let her).

So we're training her that if she goes into the crate on signal she will be greatly rewarded. This will also let us know whether or not her being difficult and not cooperating is just wanting to play and be a little shit or if she's really and truely not doing well (sometimes, we just can't be sure). After the training process is established, we'll be able to teach her lots of things so she's mentally stimulated.

Maybe that made sense, I'm high and just felt like typing...

As for the holes..... badgers are diggers, that's a given. It's not uncommon (and admittedly entertaining) to see a keeper walking around the outside enclosure while cleaning it just before closing and suddenly sink a foot or two. This is how we first find the tunnels *chuckles* So for our own safety while cleaning we can't have these little sink holes which can twist ankles and sprain knees, etc. Badgers also have this penchance for digging beneath rocks, which sometimes collapses the tunnels. We don't want to risk either having a badger trapped in one (not a happy badger) or even crushed by a badly timed tunnel run. Collapsing the tunnels also keeps her in something of the public's view. She has places in her enclosure to go if she wants some privacy, but we'd just rather keep them above ground.

Another part of it is that no one that currently works at the zoo was there when this particular enclosure was built, and doubts it was built for badgers. So while chain link fence suppooooooosedly runs beneath it, we're not exactly sure if it does, or what shape it's in.... and.... well..... little badgers running free is a good thing, but not when they have no fear of humans and could bite a child or someone that comes up to pet the fearless cute thing....

And YES.... that was all in one day. Today was a liiiiittle bit slower.