Yesterday morning we were witness to a tense drama involving a badger and Long-tailed Weasels on Antelope Island. American badgers feed primarily on rodents (ground squirrels, pocket gophers, rats, mice and voles) which they often capture by digging out their burrows – the digging skills of badgers are legendary. But on this day a close relative was on the menu (badgers and weasels are both mustelids of the order Carnivora).
We were looking primarily for birds to photograph but noticed this badger near a burrow that was apparently new as we hadn’t seen it before. As soon as I looked at it through my lens I could see it had prey, which at first I assumed to be some kind of rodent.
But with a slightly clearer view I could tell from the color and elongated body that it was actually a weasel (Long-tailed Weasel).
The badger came up on the dirt mound of the burrow…
and then turned in the side light to give me my best look at the weasel. At this point the badger disappeared down the hole and since we were quite a ways from it and the light angle was bad…
I decided to drive closer, improve my lighting position, and see if the badger re-emerged. To my surprise, it did.
It paid very little attention to the big truck with two clicking photographers inside as its attention seemed largely focused on something in the grasses near the burrow. After a few minutes it disappeared down the burrow so we left the area to look for birds.
An hour and a half later we returned to the area and once again found the badger outside the burrow, which surprised me. This view gives a good look at the flattened body that badgers are known for.
And then it returned to the entrance hole once again. Here you can see that there were actually two burrow entrances – both fresh but the darker one at the rear with more moist dirt was the most recently dug. I believe these “badger holes” to actually be burrows of prey that had been dug out by the badger is it pursued them, which is typical badger behavior. If either burrow had been the home “den” of the badger the dirt likely wouldn’t have been so freshly dug and the vicinity of the dirt mounds would have been scattered with prey remnants (bones and fur) and droppings.
Then suddenly another actor in the drama appeared in the grasses near the burrow…
a second Long-tailed Weasel. You’ll notice that this one had a spot of blood on its right-front leg.
By this time the badger had disappeared down one of the burrows and the gutsy little weasel came in to investigate. What happened next floored me!
The weasel actually went down the burrow (at lower left) that the badger had just entered! It disappeared down there for a few seconds but didn’t spend long in that dangerous tunnel…
before it emerged and did some more exploring of the area around both burrow entrances.
Then it scampered off into the nearby grasses.
The badger came out once again and stared intently at the weasel as it popped in and out of the grasses. I tried to get a shot that included both critters but every time I clicked the shutter with my backed-off zoom the weasel was momentarily hidden in all the grass. The weasel is in there somewhere…
At this point the weasel left the area (we could see it scampering down the road behind us) and soon the badger surprised me once again.
It emerged from the rear entrance with another weasel!
I suspect it was actually the original weasel that the badger had in its jaws earlier in the morning, just a little worse for wear and covered with dirt. The badger took the weasel down the front entrance hole and disappeared. We waited for a while to see if anything else developed but nothing happened so we left the area.
I can’t help but speculate about what was really going on here. Weasels den in the abandoned burrows of other small mammals and it’s my guess that these two burrows had been excavated by the badger to get at prey but this time the prey turned out to be weasels rather than rodents. The dead weasel is likely the mate of the living one and the survivor was as brazen as it was because of the loss of its partner and possibly their offspring. But all that is pure speculation on my part…
What a morning! As we often say to each other (and did once again yesterday), “You just never know what you’re going to see on Antelope Island!”.
Ron
Thank you for sharing! What a sighting! Very cool that you were able to catch it all on camera!
Wow. Fantastic!
Thanks so much for the opportunity to see these animals through this amazing sequence of photos! The weasel in the badger’s mouth (the second time) is not the weasel who came searching, since the second weasel had lots of white on the legs.
Riverbirder, I know for a fact that the second weasel in the jaws of the badger isn’t the one “who came searching” because that one ran off down the road just before these last two shots were taken. What I’m not sure of is whether or not the first dead weasel is the same one as the second. It’s possible the second one is a youngster – its tail may be shorter than that of an adult.
Thanks very much, everyone. I’m glad you enjoyed the photos and narrative. It truly was quite the experience.
And Patty – you’re right about the efficiency of those legs and claws for digging. One of my mammal field guides says that a badger can “out-dig a man with a shovel”.
Wow, heavy drama! what a series and story! Thank you, thank you…
Amazing photographs documenting this story Ron. And just the other day I was bemoaning the fact that I never have been fast enough to get a single weasel picture . . .
The fourth and last frames give Us a detailed glimpse of those incredible digging tools the badger employs when going to ground after its prey…you can see how little chance of escape any prey might have…IMPRESSIVE!!
Thanks for pointing that out, Patty. I would have totally missed it otherwise.
Talk about drama! This was like going to a scary movie…something I’ve always been too cowardly to do. This, and Mia’s “portraits”, have been amazing…in photographic detail and commentary! (And some people say, “animals are lucky. They have no worries”….tell that to the weasel….)
Amazing set of photos! This sounds like it was quite an adventure. Thanks for sharing it with us.
My mistake. Yesterday I should have said “Birds and Mammals Behavior Book”.
Incredible sequence of photos.
Thanks for sharing everything (photos and thoughts)
Wonderful story and images, Ron. And, your speculation as to what was going on makes sense. Captivating story…
Cheers, Dick
Very interesting story, once again. We had a weasel living under our porch this winter, and had a lot fewer mice in the house because of its presence. I don’t think I would trade it for a badger, however! Thanks for the great morning pics!
Thanks you Ron for taking us all on another adventure with you. What an adventure. that weasel, I’m sure was the mate of the dead one. That, at least, was the first thought that came into my mind. A terrific and complete story with your amazing photos.
Good Morning,
Thanks for sharing your wonderful images and a great story!
Len
Amazing images and story narrative Ron !
WOW, That is prbably a once in a liftime event. Thanks for being there & capturing such beautiful images to tell the story!! I think I would have come to the same speculation about it as you.
My hat is off to you both, what a fantastic experience, a huge highlight in ones photographic endeavors! These shots are great, really greater than words can muster, I am just so thankful to be part of the audience that can witness through your photography these experiences; Wonderful series Ron!
Fantastic narration and wonderful photographs. Thanks so much for sharing it with us. I felt like I was there. Beautiful animals.
Wow – phenomenal. I’ve never seen a badger in the wild, though weasels are a visible part of our New Hampshire landscape. Thanks for sharing this drama! A wonderful progression.