Changes in the behaviour of a male Eurasian badger: Evidence in favour of the anti-kleptogamy hypothesis?

Abstract

We report a case of male badger Meles meles (Linnaeus, 1758) territorial expansion after the removal, by poaching activity, of a neighboring male in an area of low badger density. The most plausible reason for the behaviour of this male is the gaining of the access to the females of the adjacent territory because: the male spent approximately half of his active time inside the new area, made a similar effort as the previous male in sleeping together with the new breeding female and did not use the summer-autumn feeding areas of the taken range. While considering that data have come from only one animal, it is discussed the key importance of female access against food resources and shelter when explaining male badger spatial behaviour, at least in low density populations.