Long Journey to New Home
Three young American badgers were on the loose. Their mother had been struck by a car and killed on Highway 1 just north of Cambria, and the caller to the PWC hotline was concerned these juveniles might also be hit. When the rescuers arrived, however, the badgers were nowhere to be seen.
Tracked via trails made through grasses at the edge of the highway, each had already begun to dig an indentation in the dirt. Carnivores native to California, badgers are famous for their long foreclaws, ability to dig dens – and ferocity. It took three people and two nets (one over, one under each badger) to capture the growling youngsters for transport to the PWC clinic.
It was the first leg of a long journey they would take over several months.
At the clinic, says Rehabilitation Technician Sophie Swan, intake exams revealed the three to be healthy: “BAR (bright, alert, responsive), warm, and old enough to thermoregulate and eat on their own,” although they were given an antiparasitic treatment for “the healthy population of ticks on each of them.” For just over a week, they were housed in a quiet enclosure with minimal contact with human caregivers. Swan tucked away their food for foraging enrichment and provided “deep pans for digging practice and areas to hide.”
Meanwhile, Clinic Director Vann Masvidal had arranged for their transfer to Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue, with its better capacity to care for them. From the SLO County Airport, they were flown north by Eric Choate, volunteer pilot with Flying Tails, a nonprofit “Uber for wild animals” founded by pilot and retired anchorman Ken Wayne.
It was the second leg of their journey.
In a stunning location and with capacity to care for even apex predators (such as black bears and mountain lions), SCWR was the ideal rehabilitation center for these badgers, mesopredators playing an important role in controlling populations of smaller mammals.
Under the supervision of Danielle McGuire, Animal Care Director, a 15-ft x 10-ft enclosure had been set up. Dirt was hauled in. Corrugated tubes were brought in for the badgers to tunnel through. Pine, bay, and other native foliage was added, both to mask human smells and for enrichment of the environment. After about a month, the badgers were moved to a 50-ft x 30-ft enclosure usually intended for bears. There, they dug a complex labyrinth of crisscrossing tunnels.
When the day came to send them back to Pacific Wildlife Care for release, the warren of tunnels presented a challenge. The badgers managed to evade the live traps set out for them and burrowed fast into their labyrinth in three directions, as if to “divide and conquer.” It took four people to capture them.
Yet another challenge was squeezing their large carrier into Flying Tails’ Cessna 182 for the next leg of their journey, this time with Wayne at the controls – and then maneuvering the carrier out at the SLO airport and into the truck of Rescue/Transporters Morgan Nolan and Kathy Simpson.
Care had been taken to scout a good release location, away from the dangerous highway where they had been found. Cambrians Lindy and Jon Pedotti agreed to the release on their vast property, in part, as Jon said, because “they hunt ground squirrels,” which are plentiful on their ranch.
The badgers’ final journey, this one a road trip, came near dusk. Arriving at the release spot involved a bumpy, sometimes harrowing drive (“Mister Toad’s Wild Ride,” Lindy called it), but when reached, was perfect — with a pond, grasslands, hills, trees, countless ground squirrels to hunt, and miles of dirt to tunnel through.
The vehicles pulled up, and the carrier was brought out of the truck. Seven cattle grazing nearby wandered over as if to watch the show. When the carrier was opened, one badger emerged and scurried for tall grasses. The other two seemed reluctant, slower to step into their new territory. But they finally did, also heading for the tall grasses. The truck was packed up. Seven cattle turned back to grazing. Show over. Mission accomplished. Journey ended.
