So it’s been nearly a whole month we’ve been regularly getting hedgehogs visiting our garden!
It’s still just as exciting as it was the first time, the only difference is now I have several hours’ worth of footage from the trail camera! The hogs often have that undesirable quality of placing their bum in front of the camera – which doesn’t make very entertaining watching.
The hogs seem just as confident as ever – not being fazed by foxes, cats (see video) or humans refilling their bowl.
It seems like the Hogmother (faint Terry Pratchett reference there) has left her hoglet – and although it still follows her around, she got quite crabby when it tried to join her at the food bowl!
I’ve piled some turfs (turves?) under the patio step, which has made the ascent to the peanut feeder easier – although there has been the occasional ungraceful tumble back down….
Foodwise, they are loving the tinned stuff, less keen on the semi-moist and absolutely refuse to eat the ‘Insect Crumble’ which came as part of a set I got. Some of them seem to like peanuts (apparently this is a sort of junk food for them as it is quite fatty) and there is mixed interest in the ‘Hedgehog Crunch’ (which as a food source FOR hedgehogs sounds terrible!)
I’m vaguely concerned I might be overfeeding them, but Winter is Coming, and certainly the young’un still looks quite small.
Something I will have to get clear with them is the (currently) un-spoken arrangement that they are supposed to eat slugs and snails. It’s possible the young’un doesn’t know this, but there is no excuse for the others. Blatant disregard for molluscs was witnessed in camera footage; not only failing to chase, harass or disrupt activity (other than a hesitant lick) but sharing the food bowl with them!!! There will be a strongly worded letter to the local hedgehog community.
Thought I would augment this week’s blog with some ‘fantastic facts’ about hedgehogs:
1. A group of hedgehogs is called an ‘array’ – however you are unlikely to see this as they are mostly solitary species and will actively take the long route to avoid encountering another hedgehog. This is peak introvert level.
2. Hedgehogs have on average 5000 – 7000 spines on their backs (this was discovered by someone with a lot of time on their hands and a dead hedgehog). The spines are made of keratin – like human hair. Hoglets will have two sets of ‘baby spines’ which will grow and drop before their mature spines establish. New spines grow in before the old spines have fallen out – thus ensuring the safety of the animal. Once mature, hedgehogs will gradually loose and grow new spines throughout their lives, rather than shedding large amounts all in one go.
3. Hedgehogs are good swimmers. As their spines are hollow, they can act as a buoyancy aid and they can float on their backs – although this means leaving their vulnerable soft stomach more exposed – so I’m not sure how regular an occurrence this is!
4. There are 15 different species of hedgehog in the world. The European Hedgehog is the only native one in the U.K
5. They are lactose intolerant – milk can make them very unwell.
6. They have a small tail.
7. They are protected in the UK under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. On the IUCN Red List for British Mammals, they are classified as ‘vulnerable to extinction’ – so they really need all the help we can give!
Comments