Abstract
Badgers (Meles meles) defecate, urinate and scent mark at latrines which seem
to have a territorial function. The main aim of the present study was to
compare defecation patterns at boundary and hinterland latrines, in order to
test the hypothesis that these two types of latrine have a similar function.
We investigated latrine use by means of a year-round survey of all the
latrines in 7 badger territories, by bait-marking of 15 territories, and by
monitoring latrine use in 6 radio-collared badgers belonging to three social
groups. The spatial distribution of latrines within a territory was bimodal,
with the greatest densities oflatrines close to the outside, and close to
the centre, of the territory respectively. Boundary latrines were larger and
more consistently used than hinterland latrines, but these differences could
be accounted for by the fact that boundary latrines are visited by the
members of more than one social group. Defecation at latrines was subject to
seasonal variation, with a major peak in latrine use in spring and a minor
peak in autumn. The spring peak was largely attributable to an increase in
the use of hinterland latrines, the autumn peak to an increase in the use of
boundary latrines. Males visited boundary latrines considerably more often
than did females, but both sexes visited hinterland latrines equally often.
Overmarking occurred equally often at both types of latrine and involved
animals from the same as well as from different groups, but there was a
significant tendency for more between-group than within-group overmarking.
Overmarking occurred mainly on fresh, as opposed to old, faeces deposits.
The sex and seasonal differences in use of boundary latrines suggest that
these function at least partly as a form of mate-guarding, to deter
neighbouring males from entering a territory for mating purposes. It is less
clear why females mark at hinterland latrines. One possibility, consistent
with the observed spatial distribution of hinterland latrines, is that they
function to defend the main burrow system, which is used for breeding;
another is that they carry information about social status. Overmarking
probably serves to obliterate the marks of competitors, which are members of
neighbouring social groups in the case of boundary latrines, but may be
members of the same social group in the case of hinterland latrines. We
conclude that previous ideas about the function of territoriality in
badgers, and about the information conveyed by latrines, are
oversimplified.
Spatial distribution and sett use by the Japanese badger, Meles meles anakuma.