This badger was spotted along Highway 5, about one kilometre south of the Timeless Treasures Antiques.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Maitland Simrose
November 11, 2022 - 6:03 PM
A North Thompson woman is worried about a rare badger that’s taken up residence in her yard.
The badger has been living in Holly Buchanan’s yard since last year. It’s dug holes in her yard from the North Thompson River and under railroad tracks.
It previously lived under her neighbour’s deck in a hole but when the North Thompson flooded, it moved out of its home and onto her four-acre property, Buchanan said. The issue is she also has a puppy in her yard that likes bark at it.
She believes it’s the same one that was spotted this past summer by a Barrière resident along the Yellowhead Highway since it’s near her home.
“It’s going to get hit,” she said, adding it’s a busy highway.
Buchanan is also concerned as her neighbour has previously trapped and killed other animals so she doesn’t want that to happen to it.
She doesn’t have a problem with it living on the property as it doesn’t bother her horses, she said.
Buchanan called the Conservation Officer Service but was told since it’s a protected species, they couldn’t help, she said.
Kamloops Conservation Officers could not be reached for comment Friday, Nov. 11.
American badgers are one of the largest species of the weasel family.
They are stout, shaggy, nocturnal animals that are highly specialized for digging, according to a report from the province.
“Dens dug by Badgers are used by many other species of grassland wildlife. In British Columbia, these dens were once particularly important for Western rattlesnakes and for the rare burrowing owl,” according to the report.
It is believed there are only about 350 breeding adults left in B.C., according to the province.
The species is endangered due to small numbers, continuing loss of habitat, persecution, and road mortality, according to the report.
READ MORE: Death of badger in Kamloops garden was human caused: conservation officer
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