Badger down!

[Daver]

I am trying to thin the herd of the egg eating, nest robbing vermin on our farm this year by doing a little trapping/snaring. I have knocked out a few critters so far, but got a shock this morning when I found that I had caught a badger! I hadn't even seen a badger in years and didn't know I had any around. (Although I think I now know what had been digging big holes around the shed. I thought before it was likely a ground hog, but this catch tells me otherwise.)

At any rate, does anyone know someone that could tan this hide for me around the Iowa City area? He is frozen solid right now, but I would like to preserve this guy in a form.

 

[THA4]

not sure about tanning the hide, but how bout some pix?

 

[blake]

Any taxidermist can send it in for you and have it soft tanned. My guess it it would cost around $35.00. You can purchase tanning kits and do it yourself, I have done it many times and the hides turned out very nice.

 

[Daver]

not sure about tanning the hide, but how bout some pix?

Why, are you thinking that it is really an oppossum? Don't worry, it is the real deal. :grin: I'll try to get a pic up tomorrow.

A little more to the story...I snared this critter in a hole through the wall in a small, tin-roofed shed that is on my property. I keep various low value odds and ends inside the shed, but I don't go in it very often. I proceeded to extract Bucky from the set location, in which, shockingly, he had dug up quite a bit before he met his demise. He was frozen in a pose that looked like he was going to jump at you.

Well, I had set his frozen carcass out of my way in a snow drift about 10' to my left as I proceeded to remake the set. (Note the FORESHADOWING. ) Since he had torn the deal up quite a bit, this took me a few minutes to reconstruct this killer set. (Note - this "hole in the wall" set has netted me a few coons, at least one skunk, a couple of stray cats over time and now a regal badger, so still wanting to reduce the egg eating population some, I wanted to rebuild the area and reset it. I'll probably have to wait until spring thaw to bring the skidloader to level the dirt back out. )

Well after about ten minutes or so I was finally done with my work and I stood up and turned to my left to walk back over the cabin and having now forgotten about the frozen beast I almost stepped on him. Well the unexpected sight of him in his menacing "frozen crouch" as I nearly stepped on him caused me to yell, quite loudly, and jump about another 10' back to my right!

Good gravy, the thing nearly made me crap! The moral of this story is never to set frozen badgers right where you are going to forget about them and nearly step on them!

 

[muddy]

stuffy MIGHT be able to get him tanned for ya, Lone Tree area just south of IC. 319-330-1774 call in the evenings though he may see the post here online.