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Science & Tech

Crossing the road risky business for badgers

Sadie Cox

Crossing the road can be bad news for a badger. BC Badgers are endangered. The Jeffersoni Badger Recovery team estimates that there is only about 230-340 in the province. TRU MSc Environmental Science graduate student Steve Symes is studying badgers in the Cariboo--the northernmost limits of the badger’s range. “I’m really interested in making sure we don’t lose a species at risk,” said Symes. “If we know more about these animals we might be able to make small changes in the way we do things that make a real difference to their populations.” Roger Packham, Senior Ecosystems Biologist in 100 Mile House, estimates that the adult badger population in the Cariboo is between 40-60 animals. He said it’s important to understand general badger ecology, home range sizes and habitats. “Road kill is the major mortality factor for badgers,” said Packham. “In order to recover the existing population there is a need to reduce road mortality rates.” The Cariboo badger population has been studied since 2007. TRU MSc candidate and wildlife biologist Richard Klafki worked with the same badger population prior to Symes. Previous studies have focused on road ecology and how roads impact habitat use and behaviour. Summer badger movements and habitat selection have been documented but not winter. In order to determine year-round habitat requirements Symes is focusing on badger movements over the winter. Klafki found that badgers are more active than previously thought in the winter and choose different dens than they do in the summer. Symes is looking at different dens to ensure both winter and summer habitat requirements are met. Using radio transmitter telemetry, Symes located the badgers every week during the winter and measured differences in habitat den characteristics. When there was enough snow, he also followed badger tracks to see if they were catching food and to determine what motivates movement. “By knowing winter habitat requirements we might be able to predict what areas should be conserved,” said Symes. “Ideally these would be areas away from highways.” Two of the badgers Symes tracked did not use specific winter dens and were found in different dens each week. Four other badgers seemed to use specific dens and stayed in those same dens for about four weeks. Badgers in the United States have a small grassland range—about 2-5 square km per animal. There is less grassland in BC but ranges are larger—up to 300 square km because the badgers have to travel further to find resources like food, shelter and mates. Both studies are important in light of the Highway 97 corridor widening currently planned by the Ministry of Transportation. The research aims to try and mitigate the potential threat this could pose to badgers. “Other badgers have died on secondary roads and Highway 24 in the Cariboo region, but these corridors have not contributed significantly to road kill as much as Highway 97.” “80 per cent of the males tagged versus 36 per cent of the females tagged have died on roads,” said Klafki. Symes and Klafki both observed that badgers used the roads to travel and crossed the highway a number of times. They also found that many badgers crossed under roads using existing culverts. Klafki has determined that a variety of individual badgers, including females with kits, will use dry culverts. Highway segments with a greater number of dry culverts have fewer incidents of badger road kill. “Large intact patches of suitable habitat away from major transportation corridors is recommended to be protected, enhanced, and/or maintained,” said Klafki. Through his research Klafki has identified areas of Crown land that are valuable badger habitat and has proposed them as wildlife areas under the Forest and Range Practices Act. This provincial legislation can be used to designate wildlife habitat areas, which give general wildlife measures used to give direction as to practices that can occur on that land. “There is evidence that fencing will deter badgers and this may be an option in areas where high rates of badger road kill occurs over shorter segments of highway,” said Klafki. “I’ve identified three ‘hotspots’ along Highway 97 where badgers have been struck and killed, contributing to 83 per cent of the total road kill since 2003.” Klafki said these areas would be good places to start experimental trials to see if drift fencing would be successful. Drift fences are fences used to direct animals in a particular direction, such as those used on the Coquihala Highway. This type of fencing could be used to direct badgers to dry culverts for safe passage. Packham said it is unknown whether the badger study will continue in the future as it’s viability is subject to funding. “There’s always an opportunity if a grad student is interested and can secure funding”