In an earlier trail cam footage from the sett of the badger pair where the sow gave birth to beautiful and healthy triplets, the mother of the cubs showed signs of being unwell. At the time I didn’t know what was wrong with her and worried that if she’s not utterly exhausted, she could possibly be sick. Here’s the video:
Some time has passed by, and the sow continues to show the signs of being unwell, but I no longer consider the possibility that she could be sick. I think she’s just utterly exhausted. She gave birth to the three cubs, and has since nurtured them and looked after them, tought them badger skills and looked after the sett at the same time. I mean - she’s not taking a breather. She’s a tough girl but there’s just really a lot on her shoulders right now.
The latest trail cam footage from around the sett I think shows why the poor badger mother can’t catch a break - the cubs are hyperactive. They are young, they want to play and they simply don’t know how much energy it took to bring them up to this stage. They are careless and their only worry is which sibling has the most attractive tail to bite. Plus as a mother, despite being tired, her instincts keep calling on her to never stop checking if the babies are OK, and making sure at no time is any of them in danger.
The videos show the sow trying to take a nap, but the babies put an end to it rather quickly. In spite of all that, the mother remains covetingly patient with them and just puts up with their hyperactivity. What an amazing mom to have.
00:00 NPM Disclaimer
00:11 Badger babies don’t give their mother a break
00:45 Badger mom with tired, drooping head
01:00 Badger sow collapses from exhaustion
01:30 Young cub keeps exploring as tired mother tries to rest
02:14 Second cub comes to play with resting mother
02:36 Badger mother grooms her cub
03:20 Slug crawls on fallen leaves as badger mother collapses again
03:31 Cubs jump on resting mother
04:28 Badger cub acting cute with nose
04:40 All three cubs rejoin their mother
04:58 Badger mother collapses for the third time
06:14 Cubs acting hyper
06:47 Badger mother simply too exhausted to stay up
Keep rocking :o)
Mark
https://www.nophoneman.com/
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