Badger caught red-handed destroying the owner's home, melts the internet with her guilty face

In a video posted by Wild West Wildlife RC (@wildwestwildlife) on Instagram, a rescue badger named Polly Ann was caught red-handed after busting out of her enclosure and trashing nearly everything in sight. Her caregiver had been working late on admin tasks when she heard "a loud bang followed by smaller bangs," only to walk into a scene that looked more like a burglary than an animal care facility. Polly’s enclosure door was wide open, and what followed was destruction in every direction.

Animals in care facilities often form close relationships with their caregivers, but those bonds don’t always prevent moments like these. Mischief can unfold fast, and in Polly’s case, it happened with enthusiasm and a little remorse. "Ma'am, how did you get out, Polly?" the caregiver asked in the video, her voice a mix of disbelief and mom-mode exasperation. "This is not okay. It is a disaster in here," she said. Polly, caught mid-floor with no escape plan, didn't move, just flattened herself like a shadow, her wide face filled with what looked a lot like guilt. "You raided the bag of stuffies, didn’t you, Polly?" the caregiver said further, scolding the little badger.

"She had thrown herself a full-blown rager. The fridge? Raided. Plants? Destroyed. Cabinets? Ransacked like a pirate ship. And the bag of Stuffies? Open, with SIX stuffed victims in her bed," the owner said in the caption. The worst part, according to her caregiver, came after the scolding. "She hit me with the poutiest, guiltiest little face. Now I feel like the bad guy. Mom guilt is the worst!" the post continued. The idea that animals can show guilt-like responses has been backed up by a number of studies.

A 2023 study published in Royal Society Open Science surveyed 100 animal behavior researchers and found that most believe animals are capable of experiencing basic emotional states. Respondents noted that body language, posture, and behavioral cues can reflect internal emotions, even if they aren’t identical to human feelings. Over 85% of the scientists surveyed agreed that tools either already exist or will soon exist to study these emotional expressions more precisely, and the majority felt that the scientific field should do more to explore animal emotions in meaningful ways.

That look not only hit her, it hit the entire comment section, where viewers immediately threw their support behind Polly. Some laughed, others sympathized, and some did both. @nat22nat wrote, "I’m Polly’s lawyer, and she’s perfectly innocent." @lugal.zu.i.men_ commented, "I love how she flattens into the floor when caught." @jnvmaple added, "The slide back with the clothes, ohhhh Polly Ann, you’re adorable and can come to my house." @bonvillekaren_ shared, "I'm sorry, but I'm laughing. Bless it, she looks so pitiful. The way she got in the cabinet and started wiggling, then her poor, pitiful look in her enclosure." @julianebelle wrote, "Omg that look, give Polly a hug. She knows she was a bad girl. She’s sorry to have disappointed you." @jumpin.jehoshaphat said, "Uh oh. Knew it was gonna be serious when I heard her full government name."

You can follow Wild West Wildlife RC (@wildwestwildlife) on Instagram for more animal rescue content.