Fruit

In the autumn, it becomes very important that badgers eat as much food as they can, as they need to put on weight, to help sustain them through the winter months. They do not hibernate, but the colder weather, means less food, and under-weight adults or small cubs will not survive bad winters.

Accordingly, badgers will tend to eat all manner of free Autumn food - including:

• berries (like blackberries, elderberries, and even yew berries)
• nuts - like acorns, beechnuts, cobs nuts. They will also eat peanuts and brazil nuts (plain, with no salt and no chocolate!)
• fruits which fall to the ground, such as apples, pears, grapes, cherries, plums and damsons

Windfall apples are major food sources in the autumn. This is why current (and even abandoned) orchards may be frequented by badgers in the autumn.