Badger and Otter: Best of Friends

I am always so excited to find out about Unusual Animal BFFs. And these two are especially delightful! The young badger and otter were orphaned at an early age and struck up one of the most unlikeliest/adorablest friendships!!! Check out the video of them playing at Secret World Wildlife Rescue in England. This place sounds wonderful! And yes, I did rip off the headline of this post from the following video on YouTube. It sounds like a super heartwarming illustrated mid-century children's book.

The tiny BFFs make the funniest little giggling noises. Well, depending on your POV, they either sound cute and sweet, or like something that lives under the stairs at your grandparents' creepy old house and that runs around making mischief at night. Your call!

A tribute to a very special badger

Just under two weeks ago, a tragic event occurred, an event which has been haunting me every day. And so I feel I must pay tribute to a very special badger. Here's the story: after a fun and low-key tubin' trip to the Cannon River, some friends and I were driving back to Minneapolis on some winding country roads. As we ascended a hill, we saw a badger crossing the road. It was too close to stop. There was a collective intake of breath. Then--miraculously--the badger made it across. A sigh of relief. Then...tentatively...foolhardily, or perhaps, bravely, a second badger tiptoed into the road.

There was nothing for it. If we swerved, we would hit the badger who had made it safely across. So the entire car gasped, and suddenly there was a THUMP as we hit the badger. Silence reined throughout the car. I had never been in a vehicle that had hit an animal before.

Now, as a coworker tried to tell me, "maybe he made it...but probably not." And in that case, this little badger died for his friend. And that's heartwarming. Last night we drank a toast to that brave badger, and today I would like to dedicate a post on omgwhatisthat.blogspot.com, with some pictures of my favorite badgers throughout history.

God rest your soul, little buddy. You were a brave, brave lil' badger.