Do bigcats in Sussex eat badgers?

There has been a distinct lack of badger pictures coming out of the trail cameras,in fact out of 7 different camspots this winter only 1 has showed badgers with any frequency.Of the others,2 now have just picked up these stripy things for the first time.Badgers are on the move a lot at this time of year as the yearlings get booted out of the main setts about now and the young boar badgers are forced to find areas well away from their familys sett.This is supported by the large number of roadkills seen at this time of year but this doesn,t explain why they have been absent from being in the picture so to speak.As the cameras are plotted up where bigcats are known to frequent it has left me wondering,wildlife groups have told me that they do notice a decline in badger activity in deep winter but they are still active and still show up on their cameras with frequency.

For some years now i,ve noticed that there are fewer signs of badger when i,m looking for bigcat evidence however i,ve always found it hard to believe that they are being preyed upon.For a start the adults are large,heavy,powerful animals with strong jaws,they are Mustelids like ferrets and their claws can rip up tree roots, dig the ground like JCB,s and so would cause damage to any animal foolish or unskillful enough to tackle them.Foxes usually give them a wide berth and their jugganort like run would shrug off any pursuier.

The subject of bigcats preying on them is something i have thought about and touched upon in previous blogs but i,ve had no hard evidence to back it up like carcases eaten in a cat-like way to prove anything.The occasional anecdotal statement by someone saying they saw a half eaten badger is no good to me unless i,ve seen either the carcase or good photos of the corpse.As regards the absence of them being in the trailcam pics it,s best,i find,to distinguish between evidence of coincidence and cause but everything happens for a reason in nature.........