On 10/29/2017 4:55 PM, Wolf K wrote:
https://i.imgur.com/GUHwN5A.jpg from a local rural So(uthern)
CA(lifornia) house.

Gophers? Deers? Dogs? Squirrels? I doubt it is the ants even though
there are Red Imported Fire and Argentine ants' mounds.

The next door neighbors' lawns don't even have this problem. What is
missing and how to stop these dig ups?

Thank you in advance.

That looks like classic Badger damage to me!

Do you have Badgers there?


Yes, they have badgers (smallish, about the size of medium to large cat).

https://www.wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Mammals/Badger

From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_badger
"Diet

The American badger is a fossorial carnivore. It preys predominantly on
pocket gophers (Geomyidae), ground squirrels (Spermophilus), moles
(Talpidae), marmots (Marmota), prairie dogs (Cynomys), pika (Ochotona),
woodrats (Neotoma), kangaroo rats (Dipodomys), deer mice (Peromyscus),
and voles (Microtus), often digging to pursue prey into their dens, and
sometimes plugging tunnel entrances with objects.[10] The American
badger is a significant predator of snakes including rattlesnakes, and
is considered the most important predator of rattlesnakes in South
Dakota.[11] They also prey on ground-nesting birds, such as the bank
swallow or sand martin (Riparia riparia) and burrowing owl (Athene
cunicularia), and lizards, amphibians, carrion, fish, skunks (Mephitis
and Spilogale), insects, including bees and honeycomb, and some plant
foods such as corn (Zea mais), peas, green beans, mushrooms and other
fungi, and sunflower seeds (Helianthus)."

Interesting. I have never seen and heard that they existed here! Someone
said https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPmyUdLrk9Q is a raccoon that was
recorded by an automatic camera at night almost last year. Its tail
doesn't match with a badger's. :/
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