Can Badgers Be Dangerous?
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.
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.
Anonymous 0% helpful
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.
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.
Anonymous 50% helpful
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.
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.
Mally Jones 0% helpful
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!
Hope I Helped!
Hope I Helped!
Ginger Summers 0% helpful
Of Course Badgers are Dangerous! Just ask the little (and big) critters they eat! Ask Boris's unfortunate victims.....of course it wasn't Boris' fault. He should NEVER have been kept as a pet!"
Temper, Temper: Several African tribes report that the honey badger attacks the scrotum of larger mammals if provoked and has even castrated humans. While these reports remain uncorroborated by first-hand evidence, there is some circumstantial evidence such as remains of castrated waterbuck and gnu found in Kruger National Park (dead by blood loss). OWIE!
May 14, 2003 from TIMESONLINE
A QUIET corner of rural England was recovering yesterday after a bruising encounter with Boris the badger.
Five people were put in hospital and two police officers were sent scurrying for cover after the bad-tempered creature went on a 48-hour rampage through Evesham in Worcestershire.
As the last victim returned from hospital yesterday, after having skin grafts to his legs and an arm, residents described Boris’s arrival as being like a scene from a horror film.
Michael Fitzgerald, 67, a retired BBC producer from the Greenhill area of the town, was attacked when he heard noises coming from his garage and went to investigate.
After tentatively raising the door he spotted Boris and beat a hasty retreat. But the badger headed him off and attacked, sinking its fangs into his arms and legs before scuttling off into the night.
His wife, Pam, speaking as Mr Fitzgerald was due to undergo plastic surgery for his inch-deep wounds at Selly Oak Hospital in Birmingham, said that the badger had struck without warning. “It was like something out of a horror movie, he was bleeding so badly,” she said.
“To hear your husband screaming and shouting in such pain, it was horrifying. He is very badly shaken up and he’s going to be permanently scarred.”
Boris, 2½ft long and weighing in at 15kg, had earlier bitten two teenagers and a man and a woman who were walking their dogs.
He also showed no respect for the law. Two police officers called by residents who feared that a prowler was in their midst were forced to jump on to the bonnet of their patrol car when the snarling animal charged straight at them.
The badger’s rampage eventually ended on Saturday when he was caught under a crate by Michael Weaver, chairman of the Worcestershire Badger Society.
Afterwards Mr Weaver said that the badger’s behaviour was unprecedented. “I have never heard of anything like this in 24 years of work with badgers throughout the UK.”
Boris, a 15-month-old male, is believed to have escaped, or to have been stolen, from a nearby wildlife centre, where he had been kept in an enclosure with another badger.
Mr Weaver said that because the badger was domesticated he had not run away from people when frightened by them, but had instead decided to attack. “In the wild badgers are fiercely territorial and will attack other badgers, but they will not normally attack human beings.
“Boris may have been happy in his domesticated environment where he was used to people around him, but when he was taken out of those surroundings his wild territorial instincts came to the fore.
“While a wild badger would run off on picking up human scent, Boris had experience of people. He reacted entirely naturally and saw the person off his territory by attacking them.” After catching Boris Mr Weaver handed him to a local vet. The badger was later put down on medical advice.
“The real tragedy about Boris is that it shows that people should not try to tame wildlife or treat them as pets, because they are not,” Mr Weaver said.
Caroline Gould, who works at the Vale Wildlife Visitor Centre, where Boris lived, said that the badger had been kept in an enclosure after being given to the centre as a hand-reared baby.
“Sadly we could not put him out in the wild because he was already domesticated,” she said, adding that Boris had always been amiable, if a little moody. “It is very, very sad. He must have been very frightened and hungry to have behaved like he did.”
Ms Gould added that Boris, who was naturally nocturnal and often not seen for days at a time, appeared to have been stolen, set free, or escaped of his own volition.
Tim Thomas, senior scientific officer in the RSPCA’s wildlife department, said that the badger’s plight demonstrated the real dangers of rearing such animals in domestic environments. “This is a prime example of why we should leave wildlife alone unless you really know what you are doing,” he said.
The National Federation of Badger Groups advises people not to try to feed badgers in case they get bitten. It has no record, however, of wild badgers attacking people, except when injured or trapped. ( or provoked, teased).
I suppose cats wouldn't need to injure, trap, provoke or tease a badger in order to fall prey. Just a chance meeting. Fate.
Temper, Temper: Several African tribes report that the honey badger attacks the scrotum of larger mammals if provoked and has even castrated humans. While these reports remain uncorroborated by first-hand evidence, there is some circumstantial evidence such as remains of castrated waterbuck and gnu found in Kruger National Park (dead by blood loss). OWIE!
Rampaging badger puts five people in hospital
May 14, 2003 from TIMESONLINE
A QUIET corner of rural England was recovering yesterday after a bruising encounter with Boris the badger.
Five people were put in hospital and two police officers were sent scurrying for cover after the bad-tempered creature went on a 48-hour rampage through Evesham in Worcestershire.
As the last victim returned from hospital yesterday, after having skin grafts to his legs and an arm, residents described Boris’s arrival as being like a scene from a horror film.
Michael Fitzgerald, 67, a retired BBC producer from the Greenhill area of the town, was attacked when he heard noises coming from his garage and went to investigate.
After tentatively raising the door he spotted Boris and beat a hasty retreat. But the badger headed him off and attacked, sinking its fangs into his arms and legs before scuttling off into the night.
His wife, Pam, speaking as Mr Fitzgerald was due to undergo plastic surgery for his inch-deep wounds at Selly Oak Hospital in Birmingham, said that the badger had struck without warning. “It was like something out of a horror movie, he was bleeding so badly,” she said.
“To hear your husband screaming and shouting in such pain, it was horrifying. He is very badly shaken up and he’s going to be permanently scarred.”
Boris, 2½ft long and weighing in at 15kg, had earlier bitten two teenagers and a man and a woman who were walking their dogs.
He also showed no respect for the law. Two police officers called by residents who feared that a prowler was in their midst were forced to jump on to the bonnet of their patrol car when the snarling animal charged straight at them.
The badger’s rampage eventually ended on Saturday when he was caught under a crate by Michael Weaver, chairman of the Worcestershire Badger Society.
Afterwards Mr Weaver said that the badger’s behaviour was unprecedented. “I have never heard of anything like this in 24 years of work with badgers throughout the UK.”
Boris, a 15-month-old male, is believed to have escaped, or to have been stolen, from a nearby wildlife centre, where he had been kept in an enclosure with another badger.
Mr Weaver said that because the badger was domesticated he had not run away from people when frightened by them, but had instead decided to attack. “In the wild badgers are fiercely territorial and will attack other badgers, but they will not normally attack human beings.
“Boris may have been happy in his domesticated environment where he was used to people around him, but when he was taken out of those surroundings his wild territorial instincts came to the fore.
“While a wild badger would run off on picking up human scent, Boris had experience of people. He reacted entirely naturally and saw the person off his territory by attacking them.” After catching Boris Mr Weaver handed him to a local vet. The badger was later put down on medical advice.
“The real tragedy about Boris is that it shows that people should not try to tame wildlife or treat them as pets, because they are not,” Mr Weaver said.
Caroline Gould, who works at the Vale Wildlife Visitor Centre, where Boris lived, said that the badger had been kept in an enclosure after being given to the centre as a hand-reared baby.
“Sadly we could not put him out in the wild because he was already domesticated,” she said, adding that Boris had always been amiable, if a little moody. “It is very, very sad. He must have been very frightened and hungry to have behaved like he did.”
Ms Gould added that Boris, who was naturally nocturnal and often not seen for days at a time, appeared to have been stolen, set free, or escaped of his own volition.
Tim Thomas, senior scientific officer in the RSPCA’s wildlife department, said that the badger’s plight demonstrated the real dangers of rearing such animals in domestic environments. “This is a prime example of why we should leave wildlife alone unless you really know what you are doing,” he said.
The National Federation of Badger Groups advises people not to try to feed badgers in case they get bitten. It has no record, however, of wild badgers attacking people, except when injured or trapped. ( or provoked, teased).
I suppose cats wouldn't need to injure, trap, provoke or tease a badger in order to fall prey. Just a chance meeting. Fate.
Anonymous 33% helpful
Yes, they are on the road they can cause destruction and death.
Anonymous 0% helpful
Badgers are very very dangerous! They can cause death to humans or any animal really that are not stronger than themselves!
Related reading
- Which Animal Does Not Have Teeth?
- It is surprising to note that there are a number of animals which do not have teeth. Birds,...
- How Are Animals Classified As Rare Or Endangered?
- The term endangered in relation to an animal means that the number of animals of that species...
- What Is The Slowest Animal On The Planet?
- Native to Central and South America, the sloth is the slowest animal on the planet. Sloths...
- Which Is The Biggest Animal In The World?
- Yes..its the Blue whale...but you should specify in the question whether you are talking about...
- What Were The Effects Of The Ice Age On Animals?
- The great Ice Age, or Glacial Period, was a time when a great mass- of ice came down gradually...
Tweet
Bookmark