January 2022
“In the bleak mid-winter frosty wind made moan”. The poet Christina Rosetti (1830 – 1894) wrote these words accurately describing this challenging time of year. All life is challenged by winter, but most living forms have adaptations that allow them to survive the cold. Cold blooded (poikilothermic) animals hibernate meaning they put their lives on hold and go into torpor. Many mammals grow a thicker coat of hair/fur/wool. Many birds migrate from cold regions where food becomes scarce, and fly to warmer places where food is more abundant. The general idea is to adapt and survive.
Plants have also adapted to live in regions where their growth and reproduction is optimal. If you plant a tropical plant in your garden, it will probably die when the frosts come. Likewise, if you try planting bluebells in a tropical country, they will probably die of heat exhaustion.
Badgers have adapted their reproductive behaviour to fit in with the annual cycle of weather in Britain. They make their maternity nests in the late summer or early autumn when the weather is still quite mild. Badgers do not hibernate, but they feed up on earth worms, frogs and other small animals, nuts and fruit during the autumn time of plenty and their activity is reduced during the cold months. Badgers can mate at any time of the year, but the fertile embryos delay implantation in the womb until December, then after about 49 days of embryo development, the babies are usually born underground during mid-February, often from multiple fathers as they tend to be promiscuous all year round. Litters can be from 2 – 6 young. The babies emerge from the sett during the night after about 8 weeks (c. mid-April) of being fed on their mother’s milk below ground. By this time, cold weather is less likely and days are getting longer and food more abundant. The female may continue to suckle the cubs for several weeks beyond then, but they will be learning about finding food for themselves during these outings. This way, young badgers have all spring and summer to feed up, grow and mature.
Living in a seasonal habitat is always going to be challenging, but in the tropics, seasons are less well defined by daylength and temperature, they are more defined by the amount of rainfall they get.