Features of the fox and badger burrows’ distribution in forests of national parks of the Kharkiv region

Abstract

The aim of the research was to investigate the distribution of fox and badger burrows in pine and oak forests in national parks of the Kharkiv region. It has been established that the density of burrows in oak forests is higher than in pine forests due to the greater number of badger setts. Both in foxes and badgers, the burrows with 1–4 entrances dominate. The largest badger settlements (10 entrances) are located in the pine forests. With the help of the Clark-Evans coefficient (R), it has been determined that badger setts are characterized by group distribution. It is due to the biology of the species (the creation of several shelters in a family area); however, in the pine forest of the Gomilshanski Lisy NNP, the distribution of setts used by the badger is random. In the studied areas, the burrowing activity of badgers varies according to the nature of forage biotopes and anthropogenic factors. The random distribution of the shelters used by the fox is determined by the influence of environmental factors, none of which is decisive. In the oak forest of the Gomilshanski Lisy NNP and in the pine forest of the Slobozhanskyi NNP, fox burrows are clustered. Factors that determine such distribution need additional research.