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Redwall Badgers
Here you can find out what real-life badgers are like.  Since I really like badgers,
I'm also going to try to make a complete list of Redwall & Salamandastron
badgers, a badger timeline, a family tree, and some other badger stuff.
Redwall - Constance
Mossflower - Bella, Boar, mention of Barkstripe, Brocktree & Sunstripe (Sunflash), also mentions of Urthrun the Gripper, Spearlady Gorse, Bluestripe the Wild & Ceteruler
Mattimeo - Constance, Orlando the Axe, Auma
Mariel - Mother Mellus
Salamandastron - Urthstripe, Urthwyte, Mara, Loambudd, brief appearances by Urthound & Urthrun, mention of Urthclaw
Martin - Rowanoak
Bellmaker - Mother Mellus, Muta
Outcast - Sunflash the Mace (changes his name to Sunstripe at the end), Bella
Lutra - Auma
Long Patrol - Lady Cregga Rose Eyes, Russano the Wise
Marlfox - None
Legend of Luke - Bella
Brocktree - Lord Brocktree
A Family Tree:

Brocktree (M)
|
Boar (M)
|
Bella (F)
+ Barkstripe (M)
|
Sunflash (M)
|
?
|
?
|
Rawnblade (M)
Timeline Coming Soon
Another Family Tree:

Loambudd (F)
+ Urthclaw (M)
|
Urthound (M)
+ Urthrun (F)
/   \
Urthwyte (M)    Urthstripe (M)
                          |
                          adopted
                           Mara (F)
And Another Family Tree:

Orlando (M)
|
Auma (F)
Time-Traveling Urthrun?
In Mossflower, Boar lists four previous badger rulers: Spearlady Gorse, Bluestripe the Wild, Ceteruler and Urthrun the Gripper.  Urthrun?  Urthrun was in Salamandastron - she was Urthstripe & Urthwyte's mother.  Well, the events in Salamandastron happend four books after the events in Mossflower.  Urthrun can't have been a badger ruler before Boar when she occurred many seasons later in the timeline.  Unless - it didn't seem like Urthrun and her husband Urthound were badger rulers - they were living in a cave when they had Urthstripe & Urthwyte (too many Urth's!)  So, maybe the Urthrun that was Urthstripe & Urthwyte's mother was a different Urthrun than the badger ruler Boar listed.  Either that or the Urthrun in Salamandastron went back in time and acted as a badger ruler before Boar.  Or the Urthrun Boar listed went forward in time to become Urthstripe & Urthwyte's mother!  Hmm - I'll stick with the explanation that they were two different Urthrun's.
The Badgers of Redwall:
Real Life Badgers
This information is from the "Badgers" article on Encarta.com

Scientific Name: Meles meles
      Badger, mammal characterized by short, strong legs; elongated
    feet that are more or less plantigrade (heels touch the ground);
    and straight, strong toes adapted to burrowing. Badgers are
    heavily furred, distinctly marked, and very strong. They live in
    dens and are mostly nocturnal. They have perineal glands, which
    emit a fetid odor. The pelts have considerable value as furs, and
    the hairs are used in the manufacture of shaving and other
    types of brushes.
       The common badger, also known as the European
    badger, is up to 90 cm (up to 35 in) long. It differs from the
    American badger in facial markings, dentition, and other details.
    It lives in forests and digs a deep chamber, where it spends the
    winter and where in spring it bears two to six furless and blind
    young. It is omnivorous; fruits, roots, beechnuts, eggs, young
    birds, small quadrupeds, frogs, snails, worms, and insects
    constitute its natural food. It also feeds on honey and on the
    larvae of wasps and wild bees; the shaggy hair of the badger is
    protection against stings.

Read the rest of the badgers article on Encarta.com here.

For some more great badger info, check out the Harrison Badger Homepage.
pic from the Harrison Badger Homepage
the sound clip you are hearing is the sound of a badger (American badger, actually, but close enough) and it's from The Virtual Sett
Hosted by www.Geocities.ws

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