Badger-Watching In Dublin
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What wildlife has Gustavo Zoladz observed in Dublin?
Now, Terry Flanagan, you were out and about this week doing some reports. Yes, we had an email in from an old friend of the programme, Gustavo Zolads. He's a wildlife fanatic and I've been out with him on a number of occasions. We were watching foxes, we've been watching owls and peregrine falcons all across the city of Dublin. Well, he has recently discovered two badger sets along the River Dodder. Interestingly, both are on different sides of the river and both groups of badgers don't seem to interact with each other. Gustavo invited me down to observe their behaviour and during the week I met Gustavo for a spot of badger watching.
Terry, can you see that mound of earth there on the other side of the river?
It looks like a kind of a cup-shaped mound of earth. It's completely surrounded by trees, by sycamore trees. I can't see anything in it. That is the set, is it? Yeah, that's right. That's exactly what it is. And it's about two or three, maybe four metres high.
above the height of the river here yeah maybe a bit more i think it's about four meters above where the water is at the moment and this is where you've seen the badgers correct yeah that's the place how many we've seen five or six around that set there's a lot of activity i think there is a couple of entrances we can't see the others because it's very dense it's very thick
It is very thick here.
What did Gustavo discover along the River Dodder?
I'm just looking at the undergrowth. There's no way you'd walk towards it. There's no way humans could get towards it. So there's no way that there's any disturbance on that side of the river. Correct, which is fantastic because it's not open to the public. When did you first notice this set or activity on this set?
This year I have been watching it for two weeks and then last year we came a couple of times to try to see them but it was a bit more in the summer so you just couldn't see anything. It was totally covered with vegetation.
And what you've discovered here along the Dodder as well, too, because we're in a very, very built-up area here in Dublin, is that there is another set on this side of the river and only about 100 metres from here.
That's right. Exactly. Yeah. So there is another one which we suspect must be a different family.
Right.
Because I don't think they will cross the river.
Yeah, I don't think badgers cross the river.
I don't think they go from one to another one. Like, you know, the way sets might have different entrances. So families might have both kind of satellite sets and they go from one to another one. I speculate that this one is a different one altogether.
Okay. And when these appear, when the badgers appear, what do they do? They head off then for the night? Is that it?
They usually, badgers in general, they would come out, they socialise for maybe half an hour, they just hang around, they scratch each other's back, they do a little bit of digging and then it's almost like humans, you know, when you're going out with your family and someone is ready and they're waiting for the others.
Look, look, sorry, sorry for cutting across you, look, is that, can I see a snout just sticking out there?
Yes, actually. And there is another one. When I look with the thermal scope, I can see that there is another one hanging around.
Okay. What I should say as well is that Gustavo has a thermal imaging scope and he can actually see what I can't see. So you can see a second one there. Correct.
Yeah.
I can just see the one there. The one has actually just come out and is standing on that mound and literally looking across at us.
Some of them do that. They just come out to see.
And just going down towards the river and has turned right now, as if heading away from the set.
And typically what they do, they seem to go right for some reason. So they come out, look around, they go right, then they come back sometimes.
Sorry, I'm going to cross you again. But look, there's the second one. The second one is actually following the first one. And they seem to be moving off. And look, a third one. I can see a third one as well.
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