Watch amazing moment a badger snuck in through catflap, opened the fridge and ate a BAKEWELL TART
- Geoff Taylor, 63, was woken by badger in middle of night in West Sussex
- Took ten seconds for animal to realise it was being filmed and run away
- 'Cat flap burglar' caught raiding same fridge at rural home the day before
- On that occasion badger managed to eat six eggs - including their shells
This is the hilarious moment a hungry badger sneaked through a cat flap, opened a fridge and helped itself to a Bakewell tart.
The footage was captured by Geoff Taylor, 63, who was woken by the nocturnal animal in the middle of the night at his rural home in Midhurst, West Sussex.
It came one night after the ‘cat flap burglar’ had been caught raiding the same fridge - and on that occasion it had managed to eat its way through six eggs, including their shells.
Munching: This hungry badger sneaked through a cat flap, opened a fridge and helped itself to a Bakewell tart
Caught on camera: The footage was captured by Geoff Taylor, 63, who was woken by the nocturnal animal
Mr Taylor’s niece Emma Barrow, 35, who shared the video on social media, said: ‘People often think that badgers are timid creatures that you only see in the garden at night.
‘So this is certainly a shock to see one coming so boldly into a house - especially on two occasions.
‘But we hoped this footage would show people that badgers are real characters and they can be very bold and cheeky when they get hungry.
‘The badger was unfazed by the lights or the house itself, however it shows they are still scared of people - he ran off pretty quickly when he was interrupted.’
The first incident occurred in the early hours of the morning on April 27, when Mr Taylor was awakened to the sound of someone or something in his kitchen.
Filmed: Mr Taylor caught the badger after being woken in the middle of the night at his home in West Sussex
Running away: Only ten seconds after he started filming the badger did it finally spot that it had been caught
Worried about what he might find, he went downstairs and found a badger with the fridge open. It had eaten a six pack of eggs, devouring them whole after pulling them down from a shelf.
Upon seeing Mr Taylor, the badger ran back out through the cat flap. Then, when Mr Taylor was woke up at about 3.30am the next night, he grabbed his camera.
Even with the light on, the badger did not stop eating the Bakewell tart - and only ten seconds later did it finally spot that it had been caught.
Undeterred, even after being scared off it tried to come back moments later - but found the cat flap locked.
Ms Barrow said: ‘We should treat badgers with caution and respect, as they can bite if cornered but hopefully the footage shows what wonderful characters they can be too.
Time to leave: The badger fled the Bakewell tart and headed back towards the cat flap to make its escape
Run, badger, run: The animal can be seen (left) running across the kitchen and through the cat flap
Away it goes: Even after being scared off it tried to come back moments later - but found the cat flap locked
‘They are a protected species so we should look out for them. This was certainly one opportunistic badger though.’
Ms Barrow is business marketing manager at Cornwall Environment Consultants in Allet Common, near Truro, which works alongside developments to safely rehome or build around badger sets.
She said they often use sweet items for ‘bait marking’ to track where badgers have been.
This involves using golden syrup in a harmless pellet that the badgers eat, and when they defecate them it leaves a trail for the ecologists.
Ms Barrow said: ‘Perhaps we should be using Bakewell tart instead of golden syrup for this? The way he went through the tart was very impressive - he clearly enjoyed it a lot.’
Most watched News videos
- Moment fire breaks out 'on Russian warship in Crimea'
- Moment cops shoot dead 67-year-old pedophile
- Shocking moment balaclava clad thief snatches phone in London
- Russian soldiers catch 'Ukrainian spy' on motorbike near airbase
- Shocking moment man hurls racist abuse at group of women in Romford
- Mother attempts to pay with savings account card which got declined
- Shocking moment passengers throw punches in Turkey airplane brawl
- China hit by floods after violent storms battered the country
- Trump lawyer Alina Habba goes off over $175m fraud bond
- Lords vote against Government's Rwanda Bill
- Staff confused as lights randomly go off in the Lords
- Shocking footage shows men brawling with machetes on London road