Setts of European badger Meles meles in open habitats: trend or exception?

Abstract

AbstractReports on the location of badger setts generally focussed on woodland habitats and paid little attention to open areas. There was a negative correlation between the number of setts in open landscape and the proportion of forest cover with an inflection point at 25–35%. A higher proportion of badger setts in open habitats is observed when forest cover is below the inflection point. The location of setts in the open landscape results from the dominance of these habitats and the low availability of woodland and that is a permanent aspect of badger behaviour and not a short‐term trend.