Sett
Encyclopedia
Sett tunnels are usually between 0.5 to 2 m (1.6 to 6.6 ft) beneath the ground, and they incorporate larger chambers used for sleeping or rearing young. These chambers are lined with dry bedding material such as grass
Grass
Grasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...
, straw
Straw
Straw is an agricultural by-product, the dry stalks of cereal plants, after the grain and chaff have been removed. Straw makes up about half of the yield of cereal crops such as barley, oats, rice, rye and wheat. It has many uses, including fuel, livestock bedding and fodder, thatching and...
, dead leaves
Leaves
-History:Vocalist Arnar Gudjonsson was formerly the guitarist with Mower, and he was joined by Hallur Hallsson , Arnar Ólafsson , Bjarni Grímsson , and Andri Ásgrímsson . Late in 2001 they played with Emiliana Torrini and drew early praise from the New York Times...
or bracken
Bracken
Bracken are several species of large, coarse ferns of the genus Pteridium. Ferns are vascular plants that have alternating generations, large plants that produce spores and small plants that produce sex cells . Brackens are in the family Dennstaedtiaceae, which are noted for their large, highly...
. Tunnels are wider than they are high – about 30 centimetres (11.8 in) wide by 25 centimetres (9.8 in) high, matching the badger's wide and stocky build.
The material excavated by the badgers forms large heaps on the slope below the sett. Amongst this material may be found old bedding material, stones with characteristic heavy scratch-marks, and sometimes even the bones of long-dead badgers cleared out by later generations. Most setts have several active entrances, several more which are used rarely, and some which have fallen into disuse.
Setts may not be excavated entirely in soil – sometimes they are made under the shelter of a shed, or in a heap of timber or rocks. They may also be excavated using a man-made structure as a roof, such as a concrete
Concrete
Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...
path, the foundations of a building, or the surface of a road – the excavations may sometimes cause subsidence of such a structure.
Badger colonies often use several setts – a large main sett, usually in the central part of their territory
Territory (animal)
In ethology the term territory refers to any sociographical area that an animal of a particular species consistently defends against conspecifics...
, used by most of the animals, and one, two or more smaller outlier setts. Outlier setts may have only two or three entrances, and may be used by small numbers of animals when nearby food sources are in season, or in autumn when the main sett is crowded with the year's young.
Badgers typically retreat to their setts at daybreak, and come out at dusk. In cold regions, setts are dug below the level at which the ground freezes, and all members of the clan sleep in the same chamber, possibly to share body heat.
Sometimes setts or parts of setts that are not being used by badgers are occupied by rabbits or foxes.
In the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
badger setts are protected from disturbance or destruction under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992.