Daily activity of the European Badger (Meles meles, Mustelidae, Carnivora) on setts in Darwin Reserve and Meschera National Park (Russia) in summer and autumn

Abstract

The European badger's (Meles meles) daily activity was studied in two regions of European Russia with camera traps. The results of the study show that the daily activity of the European badger on settlements does not differ in the compared populations inhabiting Darwin Reserve and Meschera National Park. The badger appears on surface often during the daylight contrary to the classical idea of nocturnal activity of the species. More than half of all animal registrations occur at daylight during the summer. The moderate climate of the study areas and low level of human persecution are considered among the possible reasons of this type of activity. The daily activity of the European badger undergoes markedly seasonal changes in both populations. Badgers more often came out from their setts during daylight in summer and at night in autumn. The results have practical application in the organisation of the census of badgers by means of camera traps.

The effect of habitat and human disturbance on the spatiotemporal activity of two urban carnivores: The results of an intensive camera trap study

“…We expect foxes to be more flexible with the habitats they utilize, compared to badgers which we predict to be restricted to high‐cover habitat types such as scrubland and woodland, important habitats for foraging and sett building (Huck et al, 2008; Kruuk, 1978; Zabala et al, 2002). We also predict that fox activity will be more robust to human disturbance than badger activity, based on the greater observed exploitation of urban spaces by foxes, and that badgers will either reduce or shift their activity to avoid human presence, as observed in badger populations subjected to human persecution which are more nocturnal (Bateman & Fleming, 2012; Sidorchuk & Rozhnov, 2018; Tuyttens et al, 2001). Through adding to our understanding of these species’ behavioral responses to urban habitats and human disturbance, this study will increase our understanding of the urbanization potential of these two species and inform future management and conservation strategies.…”

First school-seminar on camera traps in European Russia in the State Nature Reserve «Bryansk Forest»: goals, results, prospects

“…Интерес к фотоловушкам возрастает в России с каждым годом (Огурцов и др., 2017). Только за последние три года число научных статей по данной теме среди отечественных исследователей заметно возросло (например, Matiukhina et al, 2016;Заумыслова, Бондарчук, 2017;Sidorchuk & Rozhnov, 2018). Этому особенно способствовал специальный выпуск журнала «Nature Conservation Research.…”