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Badgers in the City of Bristol
Journal
Biological
Conservation - Volume
28, Issue 4 , 1984, Pages 349-375
Authors
Stephen Harris from the Department of Zoology,
University of Bristol
Abstract
Ecology of Urban badgers - Distribution in Britain and habitat selection,
persecution, food and damage in the city of Bristol
Few towns and cities in Britain were found to contain badgers, and in
most the numbers of setts were low. Urban areas most likely to contain badgers
were those in which badgers were common in the surrounding rural areas; most
urban badger populations were thought to be relicts that had survived urban
encroachment. In a detailed survey of Bristol, 346 setts were located in an area
of 129·4 km2. These setts were confined mainly to three areas; their past
history, present distribution, habitat selection and levels of disturbance are
discussed. The damage caused by badgers in north-west Bristol to garden crops
and other aspects of their nuisance value are documented. The food of badgers in
the same area of Bristol is also described; unlike rural badgers they took a
diversity of food types, but specialized in feeding on fruit in the autumn.
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