Inhoud
Though this book includes birds and such small animals as dormice and stoats, its main theme is the life of the badger. As a record of the behaviour of one colony of badgers over a consecutive period of four years, it is unique. The author has devoted over a thousand hours to the observation of badgers and their setts, and most of the watching has been done by night, for she took the view that only by studying creatures under natural conditions would she obtain reliable evidence of their ways. Patience and understanding of the animal's habits, acquired by long study, brought the reward of close contact with these timid and secretive creatures. Miss Soper has been able to move among them with extraordinary intimacy and, as the many illustrations show, has achieved her ambition to make sketches of them in their natural surroundings. Probably it is the first time an artist has succeeded in doing this, for the badger is known to be among the most difficult members of our fauna to watch.
