All animals have homes and many of them are recognizable to us. Birds usually build nests or use holes in trees. Wasps build large paper structures that hang from branches. Badgers and foxes dig out dens, and foxes, with their relatively delicate paws, often use dens under fallen trees and brush piles that may have been used by another animal previously.

Badgers, on the other hand, are built for digging, and they can excavate a burrow quickly and efficiently. Their claws are long and sharp and cut through the dirt like a backhoe, helping them dig up squirrel burrows for food, and dig their own dens.

Animal feet are remarkable and often tell us a lot about what they need and how they live. This particular den entrance was found with a large, fresh (dirt) throw mound in front of a pre-existing hole. It appears to be used by foxes and badgers interchangeably, and is currently used as more of a safe resting place than a spot to birth and raise young...Although both a male and a female badger have been utilizing the den, and with a late summer/early fall breeding season and delayed implantation, we may see badger cubs next spring!