Tracking Quiz CASE 1

[JonathanD]

Hope everyone out there will join in with Red and myself and post pictures of interesting tracks and sign so we can continue these little quizes that Red started.

Here's one for you. What happened here and who was involved?

 

[_scorpio_]

grey squirrel remains from a fox?

 

[_scorpio_]

oh, molting badger?

 

[JonathanD]

One of you is close, but no cigar just yet.

 

[Teepee]

Rabbit remains from a fox?

A badger had a good scratch?

Has Dennis Healey released his eyebrows back into the wild?

 

[_scorpio_]

One of you is close, but no cigar just yet.

well... they were both me so i cant be far off
i agree with the rabbit.... or a hare?

 

[JonathanD]

well... they were both me so i cant be far off

Oh yeah

 

[Les Marshall]

The fur is not right for a badger, there is quite a bit of woodland roughage about, no sign of bunny grub, mind you we can't see the surrounding area so it could be bunny fur or something similar. Not much blood, so a clean kill, and a fox would have left more fur. Bird or weasel kill?

 

[JonathanD]

All wrong so far, but a couple of posts have mentioned the species but without getting it all correct.

The area is right on a main woodland path with about ten feet of clearing as you can see in the picture, it then goes into bramble and scrub deeper into the woods. I should have included something for scale with the hair. There is just a faint smear of blood on the second bundle.

I'll see if I have a better picture of the area.

 

[JonathanD]

Here you go...

Each bundle of hair is between 4 to 6 inches in diameter.

 

[FerlasDave]

How about this? A badger got the nutcases stuck to him and scratched them off, taking some of his winter coat with it? :S

 

[Petey]

two badgers having a barney?

 

[JonathanD]

two badgers having a barney?

You got it Petey. Two male badgers having a butt biting ruckuss on the border of two territories.

 

[British Red]

Good one. I was going to suggest a bedding clearout following the birth of young. I have seen birds dropping egg shells a long way from the nest and know of many mammals eating placenta etc. for hygeine reasons.

Red

 

[Les Marshall]

Well blige me, how wrong could I get?

 

[JonathanD]

Well blige me, how wrong could I get?

My fault for not putting something in the pic for scale.

There are quite a few of these about around the woods, but I witnessed this particular fight the night before and it was full on badger war.

 

[JonathanD]

I found this blue tit nest today and it seems they are using the badgers hairs to decorate their new home: