Mystery Burrows

The audio is fantastic! I can hear the blue jays in the background, and the waves lapping at boatside. Feels like being there!

Last year the shad were really grouping up with the big walleye hot on their tails by the time the water temps were in the low 60’s around the middle of September.

Here’s a report from Dustin Stewart from last September that does a good job of letting guys know the quality of fishing they can expect if they can follow the shad as the temps fall.

2007 September Walleye Fishing Report – Dustin Stewart

I was doing some exploring in the woods near our cabin this weekend, and I ran across two burrows. They are dug into a sandy hillside. The holes are a good 12″-18″ across, and the sand is piled just outside the opening. Also, I found a skull outside one of the openings–it’s about the size of my fist. I assume whatever is in the burrow ate the owner of the skull.

I know it’s not much to go on, but I do have pics that I will get up later. I’m curious what it could be? A badger maybe? I’ve never seen one in the wild.

Oh, and this is in west-central MN.

Badgers typically would leave tracks showing the large claws. Might be hard to see in sand though. They also leave a large amount of dirt outside the burrow.

Also, if it is a badger, don’t corner it. They can be rather agressive. I’ve taken them on with nothing but a claw hammer in the past. Glad I was younger and dumber in those days.

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Badgers typically would leave tracks showing the large claws. Might be hard to see in sand though. They also leave a large amount of dirt outside the burrow.

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Definitely a lot of dirt outside the burrow, but didn’t really see tracks, likely due to the sand.

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Also, if it is a badger, don’t corner it. They can be rather agressive.

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No plans to mess with it! Just curious what’s roaming around up there.

Reminds me of the Simpsons episode where a badger takes up residence in the dog house:

“Badger my [censored]. It’s probably just that Milhouse kid.”

If it’s a badger bring your new shotgun. We had one in our barn one summer and suprised it as much as it suprised us. It made for an exciting day I don’t want to see again.

Be kinda neat to put a trail cam up!

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Be kinda neat to put a trail cam up!

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Yeah, wish I had one!

I feel it’s only fair to warn you, badgers are faster than one would think too. I’ve had run-ins with them at night when coon hunting. Again, in my younger days, we didn’t want to ruin the pelts nor would it have been safe to use a gun around 4-5 teenagers on a Saturday night.

Scares the bejesus out of you when chasing a set of eyes across a grassy pasture and when you catch up to find out it’s a badger. The best analogy I have is…”it’s like bringing a knife to a gun fight” or in my case a club.

My buddy in Wi had one under his garage. Black lab started in on it then ran like hell when badger got tough. Lab was terrified. Then the big gun stepped in. Their Yorkie that must have weight a good 4 pounds cornered that badger and held him until buddy fetched his ought-six to end it all. That story always makes me think of getting a Yorkie but I would probably end up with one that is a yippie coward.

My B-I-L’s yorkie has been known to put Floyd (who has 140 lbs on him) in his place. He’s a yappy, spoiled, little dink, and I really don’t like him, though.

OK, here are photos of the burrows. What do you think?

Do you know anyone that has a trail cam?

Thats a badger burrow.

Thats the biggest badger burrow I’ve seen. I would NOT go out at night. Maybe it’s a honey Badger.
DT

A hell of a big ground squirrell.

Take a section of barb wire about 10′ long… spin it down the hole until it gets tangled in the badgers tail. then pull him out. have gun ready I used to do this for fun as a kid makes for an exciting day

Here’s a few pics of the skull that I found near one of the entrances. Any ideas what the skull could be from?

From what I have seen online and what you guys are saying, I am pretty sure it’s a badger’s den. We don’t have a trail cam, so I won’t be able to verify for sure, but it seems to be the best bet. I can’t imagine what other type of burrowing creature of that size could be in the area. It’s in a pretty undisturbed area, so I will just leave it alone.

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Thats the biggest badger burrow I’ve seen. I would NOT go out at night. Maybe it’s a honey Badger.
DT

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My sister-in-law already refuses to run to the garage fridge at night for beer because she’s terrified that there are cougars in the area. I’ll keep the badger to myself!

If I lived closer to you Ralf you could borrow one of mine, maybe there is someone here on the site closer to you that would let you borrow one.

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Take a section of barb wire about 10′ long… spin it down the hole until it gets tangled in the badgers tail. then pull him out. have gun ready I used to do this for fun as a kid makes for an exciting day

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And why is this not on youtube?
DT

Fill the hole with some tannerite and shoot. No more problem

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Take a section of barb wire about 10′ long… spin it down the hole until it gets tangled in the badgers tail. then pull him out. have gun ready I used to do this for fun as a kid makes for an exciting day

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It would have been fun to know you as a kid Bob

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Fill the hole with some tannerite and shoot. No more problem

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Great Idea as I love blowing s#$t up. About how much Tannerite do you think it would take? I’ve got a 1/2 pound left over here, but was hoping to put an old TV into orbit

A badger hole is usually wider than it is tall. A fox is generally more round. That looks like a badger to me. I wish I was closer, I’d stop over with the dogs and find out for you.