Habitat Feature And Home Range Of Reintroduced Badgers (Meles Meles)

Due to rapid urbanization of Shanghai, Badger(Meles meles) would suffer massive reductions of suitable habitat, and it was face with regional extinction make it become one of Shanghai’s most important protected animal, and the recovery plan of the Badger have launched in Shanghai.Considering the existing local population so little that couldn’t used to restore populations, thus reintroduce the nonlocal badger to rebuild populations.This study through investigation the habitat factors of reintroduction badger, analyzes the habitat characteristics around hole nest of Badger, using radio telemetry to make a preliminary study of the badger’s home range, and combining the characteristics of badger activity area food resources, analyzed the influence of food resources for home range and Badger habitat selection.1) The badgers preferred the bamboo field where are far from highway and near water meanwhile, the underground pipelines are available. They like to dig the cave on the upper and middle slope position in slightly higher mound where are gentle slope. The badgers mainly forage food in high tree density woodland where has good herbage coverage and away from highway. According to Spearman’s correlation coefficient analysis, we found that four factors are positive correlation with badger cave density:bamboo density, bamboo basal cover, pipeline density, and distance to highway; four factors are negative with cave density:tree density, tree basal cover, distance to water and distance to released site; two factors are positive correlation with forage pit density:tree density and herbage cover;three factors are negative with forage pit density:bamboo density, bamboo basal cover and distance to highway.The badger cave density is not significant correlation with forage pit density.2) According to the results of radio telemetry, the Badger activity mainly in coniferous forest, evergreen broad-leaved forest and deciduous broad-leaved forest in the summer. In the autumn, it activity mainly happened in deciduous broad-leaved forest, coniferous forest, evergreen broad-leaved forest. Through food survey, we found that summer badger food source:coniferous forest> evergreen broad-leaved forest>deciduous broad-leaved forest, autumn badger food source:deciduous broad-leaved forest> coniferous forest> evergreen broad-leaved forest. In the winter, Badger activity mainly occurred in fruit forest, evergreen broad-leaved forest and deciduous broad-leaved forest, Badger food source biomass in different habitat:fruit forest> deciduous broad-leaved forest> coniferous forest> bamboo> evergreen broad-leaved forest.Pearson’s correlation analysis showed that the frequency of badger’s fix points in different habitat is significant positive correlation with ratio of earthworm fresh-dry weight and larva fresh-dry weight in different habitat.The fresh-dry weight of animal food resource are key factors that affect badger’s fix points disturbance in different. The foraging intensity is related with fresh-dry weight of animal food resource.3) In Shanghai suburb, the four requirements should be met if you ensure the reintroduced badger release successful, firstly, the underground space available, secondly,well growing bamboo forest with strong root and higher terrain,thirdly,fruit forest,deciduous broad-leaved forest, coniferous forest and other rich food resource vegetation,finally,water available nearby. Reintroduction badger faced matters are short bamboo forest with high terrain, serious human disturbance and habitat loss.