Badgers have always defied the odds
THE dead badger on the roadside last week started me thinking about these enigmatic mammals which still seem to hold their own, despite the pressures of the modern countryside.
Although the dead badger could have come from some distance, it seems likely that it was from the large number of setts in birch/rowan woodland above the road.
Our history of the persecution of badgers in the Highlands is a sorry tale and goes back a long way.
At one time badgers were classed as vermin and were killed by various means, some quite horrific, because of the so-called damage they do to other wildlife.
At one time there was even someone who would kill badgers and he had his own name of "Brochan" after the old name of the badger, broc.
For many years they were regularly listed on the many "vermin lists" for most estates and were included with foxes, red kites and even sea eagles.
Perhaps the most famous, or should it be infamous, of such lists came from the Glengarry Estate between 1837 and 1840.
It lists 198 wildcats, 78 house cats, 246 pine martens, 106 polecats and 67 badgers.
Some people say these lists were exaggerated by the keepers to make them look better and, for many species, to get a "bonus" but even so, the list is formidable.
Nowadays, badgers have greater legal protection than most other mammals in the UK and they are perhaps only surpassed by the otter in terms of protection.
The biggest threat to badgers these days is the increase in vehicles and their speeds which kill thousands of the creatures every year across the UK.
I was, for many years, at the blunt end of such deaths as part of my role in the Nature Conservancy Council was to collect any dead badgers and take them to the Agricultural College in Inverness.
This came about in a bizarre way because of the far-reaching Chernobyl accident some years ago.
The cloud of radiation settled over part of the UK and there were fears about the impact that might have, including on ourselves.
The problem was that it was all very well to talk about the increase in radiation levels but an increase from what?
Nobody knew what the radiation levels were before the accident.
To make sure this did not happen again, many dead mammals were analysed and some of these were road casualties.
If I had a telephone call, I would have to go out and collect the carcasses.
For me it was a soul-destroying task, especially when it would be a sow that was obviously feeding cubs.
There were hotspots and, ironically, some of these are the same sites today. The main road between Inverness and Nairn was notorious and on the very few occasions when I go along that road today, I still see the odd badger on the side of the road.
As for the minor road where I found the badger last week, it is often the case of people driving too fast.
I know that sometimes badgers, or deer for that matter, will suddenly dart out and there is nothing the driver can do.
Then there are developments such as houses that spring up all over the place and whilst there is supposed to be adequate consultation over where there may be conflict with badgers, there are still a large number of problems which are overlooked.
However, in many setts away from roads and the risk of development, badgers seem to be more than holding their own and my local setts just above the house is no exception.
In contrast, the highlight of all the feeding of garden birds really paid off last year.
For two nights in succession and more when I did not see them, one or two badgers came close to the house and ate as much mixed grain as they could.
Some compensation for all the dead badgers I have handled.