Lots of teeth, sharp claws: Sask. wildlife group rescues 'adorable' young badger
Living Sky Wildlife Rehabilitation staff are getting a crash course in caring for an animal they've never had before — a badger.
"My friend who did raise a badger before, another rehabilitator, had said to me, 'no cuddling,' and I thought, of course, no cuddling. And then when I saw him, I said, 'Oh, my God, I want to cuddle him,'" executive director Jan Shadick said.
Living Sky Wildlife Rehabilitation staff are getting a crash course in caring for an animal they've never had before — a badger. (Living Sky Wildlife Rehabilitation/Facebook)
On July 1, the centre got a call about a mother badger dead on the road near Tisdale, with three cubs nearby. From the photos the centre received, it looked like the cubs were in good shape, and late June is when they'd typically leave their mother, so the centre decided to let them figure out how to survive on their own, Shadick said.
However, the next day the centre got word that at least one of them had died and two staff members went to catch the survivors. They trapped the male almost instantly and found the other two dead, likely of starvation, Shadick said.
"I don't have an easy answer. Just for whatever reason, two of them didn't make it."
Now safe at the centre, the surviving badger, about the size of two footballs and with a lot of teeth and very large claws, is quiet and sweet — unusual for the species and due to him having been debilitated.
"I mean, if you give him a mouse, the ferociousness kind of comes out. If you scare him, he sounds really frightening. But otherwise, he's just kind of hanging out and sleeping. I think he's obviously quite traumatized by his experience. Probably feeling very relieved to be getting food and water at this point," Shadick said.
The centre has had success rehabilitating similar predators such as young foxes, raccoons and hawks who struggled to learn to find food once they left their mothers' care, she said. Ideally, they'd find a place to release him where they can keep an eye on him.
"I think we have kind of a teenage badger that looks like a full-grown badger except it's a little small and it doesn't have the skills yet to survive."
Shadick also noted that many young animals are becoming more mobile this time of year; young badgers are particularly vulnerable because they hang out in ditches near the road, and porcupines are very slow-moving, she said.
She encourages people to slow down on the roads and watch out for wildlife to avoid hitting them, and to never use poison which is indiscriminate in which animals it kills.
Anyone who sees young badgers should leave them alone instead of trapping and moving them, she said.
"A lot of these animals don't tend to stay in one place. Badgers are usually little wanderers, they follow the food and so wherever there's food, that's where they'll go."
Since the centre posted about the badger on its Facebook page, some people have contacted them saying they have badgers and want to get rid of them — but also people who have badgers and want more, since they help keep pest species down.
Badgers are an endangered species in Ontario and British Columbia, according to the Nature Conservancy of Canada.
"They're very useful and beneficial. Everything has a place in the environment and badgers are no different. And so if we can learn to coexist with them, that would be great."
Correction
This story has been updated to clarify the areas in which badgers are endangered.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Spectacular aurora light show to be seen across Canada Friday night
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
McGill University seeks emergency injunction to dismantle pro-Palestinian encampment
McGill University has filed a request for an injunction to have the pro-Palestinian encampment removed from its campus.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
U.S. says Israel's use of U.S. arms likely violated international law, but evidence is incomplete
The Biden administration said Friday that Israel's use of U.S.-provided weapons in Gaza likely violated international humanitarian law but wartime conditions prevented U.S. officials from determining that for certain in specific airstrikes.
Barron Trump declines to serve as an RNC delegate
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's youngest son, Barron Trump, has declined to serve as a delegate at this summer’s Republican National Convention, according to a senior Trump campaign adviser and a statement from Melania Trump's office.
Mother assaulted by stranger while breastfeeding baby in her car: Vancouver police
A person was arrested in East Vancouver Thursday after allegedly entering a car while a mother was breastfeeding her four-month-old boy.
'We have laws': Premier Smith says police action justified in Calgary
The actions, including the decision to use non-lethal force, to disperse pro-Palestinian protesters from the University of Calgary campus were justified, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said Friday.
'State or state-sponsored actor' believed to be behind B.C. government hacks
The head of British Columbia’s civil service has revealed that a “state or state-sponsored actor” is behind multiple cyber-security incidents against provincial government networks.