We went for an early morning walk in the Parc Jura Vaudois this morning.  What stunning landscape, and so close to where we live.  The bedrock is limestone, and there are karst features everywhere – dolines, karren, small shafts and more.   It feels like walking through a karst geomorphology textbook.  I made the following photo of a solution hole in the rock that is nearly two metres deep.

In the mud of puddles, we saw footprints of large and small deer, but on one site there were prints of a totally different nature : there were claw marks.  When I checked the books at home, it suggests a badger walked our path last night or earlier this morning.

I am very glad that the park provides a safe haven for such a majestic animal.  Protected area management in action!