“There’s a badger on the roof,” sang Knutsen and Ludvigsen. And almost the same could Vegtrafikksentralen Nord report, Tuesday this week. The badger had stayed in the Breivikhammar tunnel on E6 for two days before it was decided that something had to be done. – It had been in there for a long time and “boarded”, so it was time for it to get out, says Fredrik Nyland in Vegtrafikksentralen Nord. – Is it common for badgers to cause trouble in traffic north of the country? – It is not a common phenomenon, no, and it is the first time I experience it. I have come across sheep and cows, but badgers are a little more unusual. Badgers eat most things, but their diet should consist of a lot of earthworms. It is estimated that a badger can eat up to 200 earthworms during a night, especially when it has rained and the earthworm comes up from the ground, according to Store Norske Leksikon. Photo: Dagfinn Kolberg Guided out with food Atle Tollånes is the officer guard for the Hemnes fire brigade and took part in the rescue operation, Tuesday. He thought maybe the badger would get out even at night, but the tunnel was a comfortable place for the little crab. – He has probably been well rested where he lay. He could lie right next to the mountain wall. It may seem that he was afraid of the cars and did not dare to run out himself. He probably did well to lie still. – But was he on the roof? – I do not think the badger has heard the song, because he was not there, no. Jon Arne Leirvik is responsible for wildlife in Hemnes municipality and says they are happy that they saved the life of the tunnel resident. With the help of the police, they were able to stop the traffic for the 10 minutes it took to get the seven-year-old out of the tunnel. Leirvik says that the badger was a little heavy to get loose, and that it twisted like a ball. But when the traffic was stopped, he saw his cut to run out. – It is a nocturnal animal that sleeps during the day. It was probably heading north, but then he stayed in there. I thought there would be less traffic at night, but heavy traffic and holiday traffic runs around the clock this summer. Unusual in the north Leirvik says that a few badgers have been in the area for several years, but that it is rare to see one alive. – Mostly they have been hit, he says. A badger hit in Halden. Unfortunately, this is how the wildlife committee is used to seeing badgers most often in the north of the country Photo: Christian Nicolai Bjørke / news This is confirmed by pest researcher at FHI Arnulf Soleng. According to figures from the Deer Register, 171 badgers have been registered killed after being hit on Norwegian roads. For the whole of 2021, the number was 366, as we know. – They are very often hit and vases around nearby and on the road, since they have fixed routes they walk. However, it is not common for them to enter a tunnel. There is no food or anything, so there are probably better places to find den. Arnulf Soleng at the National Institute of Public Health. Photo: Privat Soleng says that the badger is a free-living animal that is mostly found from Trøndelag and south, but some individuals have wandered quite a bit further north than usual. The badger may also have undeservedly received a stamp as a pest of some. – In some cases, they can dig a den under the foundation of a house, and then it does damage. It has also been known to dig up flower beds and lawns in search of earthworms, but almost people have to endure it. In some cases, all animals can do harm.
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Grevling closed E6 on the Helgeland coast – lived in a tunnel for two days – news Nordland
