Bark is a badger who appeared in the Watership Down TV series. She lives in the apple orchard near Watership Down, and despite being an elil, Bark is shown to be a friendly badger who only wanted to be friends with rabbits after hearing about them on Watership Down being friend to all. She is good friends with Fiver.
TV Series
Bark first appeared in the episode, The Orchard, when she was watching Hazel and Bigwig wonder around the apple Orchard and approached them, offering them an apple. However, Hazel and Bigwig ran away back to the Down in fear, and they forbid the rest of the Warren from going to the orchard. Pipkin and Fiver disobeyed the orders and went to the orchard to gather apples, bt Fiver is knocked unconscious by a ladder after he and Pipkin were running from Bark. Terrified, Pipkin ran back to the Down, leaving Fiver behind.
Bark then dragged the unconscious Fiver into her den where she later explained to the frightened buck that she only wanted to help him. She forcefed him apples to help him heal his injured leg, much to his discomfort. Bark soon wanted Fiver to stay with her, but the young buck refused. She revealed to Fiver that the rest of her badger clan moved away to the Shadow Lands, and Bark was the only one left. Every animal was afraid of her, and she hid in seclusion. Hearing from the local animals, Bark heard about Watership Down and the rabbits living there being 'friend to all'. Fiver, upon hearing this, felt sorry for the badger.
Hearing Fiver's cry of pain over his aching leg, the Watership rabbits, who were outside of Bark's den to save Fiver, were convinced that Bark was hurting Fiver and they attacked her when she emerged from her den to forage for more apples. As the rabbits surrounded Bark (who was not fighting back), Fiver intervened, telling his companions that Bark was his friend. Astonished, the Watership Down rabbits then welcomed Bark as their friend and Bark told them that she would always be at the Orchard for the rabbits to see her.
Bark appeared in the final season of the tv series, participating in the preparation of the final battle against Woundwort and his army of Darkhaven rabbits and later fought them alongside the Watership rabbits.
Personality
Bark is a lonely badger who only wants to have friends. However because she has so little interaction with other creatures, most of whom are frightened of her because she's a badger, she doesn't quite understand exactly how to be a friend, essentially keeping Fiver prisoner for a while before realising that real friends didn't force them to do things they didn't want to do. Despite being Elil, Bark does not fight the rabbits, even though they attack her first. She is also shown to be forgiving, quickly befriending all of the rabbits even though they had attacked her only moments earlier. Furthermore Bark's friendly nature gives her a strong sense of loyalty and she is seen helping the Watership Down rabbits during their final battle against Woundwort and his Darkhaven rabbits.
Bark constantly refers to herself in the third person, possibly because of the fact that for a long time she had nobody to talk to but herself. She apologizes to the Watership Down rabbits for being a badger, showing a certain degree of self loathing due to her shame of being who she is. Although she is friendly, she still retains some traits typical of Elil, stating that she likes to fight.