When out in the field you are sure to come across many different situations you may not be familiar with. For example you may find a terrier man with his terrier dog down a hole, would you know what kind of hole it is? You may also see a hunt chasing a hare / rabbit could you tell the difference? On a summer day you may come across a hunt down by a river, (mink are normally hunted in summer) if you were to take a closer look and discovered they were interfering with a otter holt or hunting Mink, would you know what you are looking at?

Below is a closer look at some of the mammals that the hunts may interfere with;

Badger

Badgers use a complex system of underground tunnels leading to multiple entrance holes, the number of which has no bearing on how many animals actually use the sett.

You can tell if the badger sett is active by freshly dug earth leading from the inside of the hole to the outside. Also, see if you can find piles of bedding which have been left out by the badgers to dry

Another way is to find badger dropping near or fresh footprints

If you find a badger sett that has been interfered with please let us know immediately, then tell you local group. Find your local group here

Here is a badger in its sett

Fox

Foxes make their dens almost anywhere. In urban areas they turn up in the most unlikely places, such as underneath portable dwellings or discarded builders' rubble.

The traditional fox den is usually a solitary entrance hole that may originally have been made by a badger. A good way to tell if a fox is at home is to smell the air around the entrance hole. The harsh musty smell of a fox is often overpowering. It's not unusual for foxes to share a badger's sett, so don't be surprised if you see both species emerging from the same hole.

Deer

Deer are often found in a wide variety of habitats, ranging from open moor to thick cover in conifer or deciduous woodland. The ideal habitat could be considered as coppice and pockets of deciduous woodland on land that is not intensely farmed, this linked by thick hedgerows and dotted with small copses

These are deer tracks

Mink

Mink live along rivers, streams, lakes, ponds, and marshes. Shorelines with grass, brush, trees, or aquatic vegetation like cattails provide good cover and abundant prey. Abandoned burrows dug by muskrats are their favourite places to rest and raise young, but they will use cavities in brush or rock piles, logjams, and the exposed roots of trees. A den can have several entrances, and includes a nest chamber about 1 foot in diameter that is sometimes lined with grass, leaves, fur, or feathers.

Mink are mostly nocturnal--active from dusk to dawn. Nearly all of their time is spent within 100 feet of the water's edge, but they'll occasionally cut across open country from one body of water to another. During winter, they often stay in their dens for a day or so during periods of extreme cold or heavy snow cover, but they don't hibernate. Mink live alone except when raising their young.

This is a mink

Otter

Otters living close to and in the water make their homes in the banks of rivers. They are called holts, and may be a hole in a bank or at the base of an overhanging tree. They are often found where the roots of a tree break the surface of the ground as this helps to keep them secure. Where overhanging trees are absent, man-made otter holts can really benefit this species.

These are Otter tracks

Water vole

Water voles also make their homes in the banks of waterways. Voles prefer to construct small entrance holes where there is thick vegetation but where the hole can easily be seen from the opposite bank to enable them to swim for cover if threatened.

A water vole lives somewhere like this

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