Heather Jones
'By showing the everyday activities of my local clan, I’ve helped challenge myths, shared tender moments rarely seen and raised awareness of that nature is all around us.'
Heather Jones
It’s not every day another family moves in at the bottom of the garden…luckily, Heather’s quite happy to share with a badger clan! This self-described #crazybadgerlady has spent time gaining skills to support the local badger population and shares her knowledge with friends, neighbours and colleagues. Here's more from Heather:
'I'm honoured to coexist with a sett of about 6-8 badgers. They dig up the garden, used it as a latrine and made some wild noises in the night, but I've embraced it as it's a rarity to live this close to wildlife and peer into their secret lives.
I've spent a lot of time learning about them through observation, reading books, conferences, joining the Badger Trust and a local badger group. I have a real enthusiasm about them and am known as the #crazybadgerlady locally because the knowledge and skills I've obtained.
I've been called in to help a landowner realise the potential impact of felling near a sett, making sure folks know the law when it comes to a protected species, and I also regularly monitor other setts to make sure all is well and to keep an eye out for badger crime.
A lot of what I do is share my love of badgers and their intimate lives on social media, by word of mouth and on the intranet at work. During lockdown, I put up a couple of trail cameras and started to share the footage with my networks. This was an absolute hit as it really brought the stories I’ve been telling about badgers to life and also helped others connect with nature during a challenging time.
I also dispel myths about them being aggressive, that they eat hedgehogs, or cause bovine TB. I share amazing badger facts like delayed implantation, what a male boar purrs like when he’s courting, how to roll badger fur, how badger poo is used to mark territory, what torpor is, and so on. Sharing badger tales makes them a lot less scary and much more accessible as many people have never seen one in real life.
The best kind of badger tale is the first emergence of the cubs and their relationship with their caring mother. By showing the everyday activities of my local clan, I’ve helped challenge myths, shared tender moments rarely seen and raised awareness of that nature is all around us.
Four different people I know have installed cameras on their patches to see what visitors they have. For me it is about sharing the wonder of the natural world and encouraging others to notice what's happening around them to deepen their connection as we share this earth with so much amazing wildlife.'
Watch our badger cam (best viewed at dusk)