Ramblings, photos and thoughts from the village of Bepton, West Sussex – plus Midhurst, The South Downs, Chichester and surrounding areas.
The recent dry spell of weather is causing all sorts of problems for our local wildlife. Take this poor hare. He should be hidden below waist-high crops, but all the fields are dry and brown. Nothing seems to be growing and the drought is making life hard for our Badgers too.
There’s a huge badger set on the side of the South Downs at Bepton Down.
How’s this for a great photo of Brock? I took a walk on the Downs this evening and settled for five minutes by the sett on Linch Down. I’d only been there for a short while before the first of the badgers came out for a nosey. They were very inquisitive – but they kept running away every time I took a picture! Great evening for a walk. In less than an hour I saw Fallow, Roe and Muntjac, Hares, Badgers and a Barn Owl. One hour well spent!
A familiar sight on the verges in March. Badgers are so dopey at this time of the year – they just can’t help themselves from being knocked over. Sad news. Two more badgers squashed on the roads around Bepton last night – that’s five or six that have been killed in the last couple of weeks. Sad news for poor old Brock. But on a positive note, there are obviously plenty of badgers around the village if this many are getting run over.
The Independent reported that “Badgers have no natural predator, except possibly the motor car” according to farming minister David Heath as he bemoaned Britain’s rising badger population. Now the nation’s first-ever roadkill survey has confirmed his opinion that fast-moving vehicles are proving effective badger-culling machines.
Badgers are by far the most run-over animal in Britain, accounting for nearly a quarter of the country’s roadkill, according to Cardiff University. Pheasants are the second biggest casualty, followed by foxes, rabbits and pigeons. And did you know that West Sussex has emerged as the UK’s roadkill capital?
Bepton Ranger 