The European badger (Meles meles) is a nocturnal animal that rarely shows itself. Their burrows, on the other hand, are impressive sights, often consisting of numerous underground passageways and entrances. Badgers excavate their burrows, which are also called setts, for decades, passing them from one generation to the next. Sometimes the passageways can also run under abandoned buildings.
In Vallisaari, badgers make use of ruined fortifications. The European badger is not as common in Helsinki as the red fox. In April, you can often see badger tracks in the wet snow near their setts.
Badger tracks in the snow, photo Eero Haapanen.