Hedgehog - Erinaceus europaeus

Named for noisily rooting through undergrowth for food like pigs, the Hedgehog is probably our most easily recognised native mammal as it is the only one to have spines. They are a welcome garden visitor as they feed on slugs and other invertebrates and one of their most endearing characteristics is curling into a tight ball when threatened, posing the potential threat with a wall of spines!

Habitat

Fields, parks, woodlands and gardens are favoured habitats, but wherever there is ground vegetation they can be found. Grassy road verges are also popular but unfortunately they are often victims of road accidents.

Description

The Hedgehog’s distinctive spines are brown with pale tips – an adult may have up to 5000 spines! Their legs are very short and can be hard to see under their coat of spines, yet despite this they are excellent swimmers and can run fairly quickly. They also have small ears and short tails and a rather elongate snout with dark eyes.

Biology

Hedgehogs are mainly nocturnal but can sometimes be seen during the day especially in the autumn when they are fattening up for hibernation. Their eyesight is poor, but their sense of smell and hearing are very good, as they hunt they can usually be heard before seen, as they are very noisy when eating, making lots of snuffling noises! While hunting for slugs, worms and caterpillars - which make up the majority of their diet, hedgehogs can travel over one mile in a night. They will also eat berries, frogs, and other insects and have also been known to eat eggs and small chicks of ground-nesting birds. It is common for people to feed bread and milk to Hedgehogs that visit their garden, but this can actually make them unwell, cat and dog food are much better for them.

Hedgehogs do not have many natural predators thanks to their wall of spines. Their main predator is the Badger, due to it’s tough paws and long strong claws it can prise open a Hedgehog that is tightly curled up without too much difficulty.

Young are born without spines and blind, their first set of spines start to emerge after a few hours, and their eyes open at about 2 weeks. There are up to five in a litter born in late spring/early summer though they may have a couple of litters a year. Hedgehogs live for up to five years, grow to 30cm and weigh up to 2kg.

Hibernation starts in October, although may be later with milder winters; and they emerge in April. Starting in September Hedgehogs are starting to build up their fat reserves for hibernation, it is most critical for youngsters to build up their fat reserves and as a result they tend to go into hibernation later usually in December. A healthy weight for hedgehogs going into hibernation is 600 grammes; if they are underweight they may not have enough fat reserves to survive the winter.

Threats

The main threats to hedgehogs have been through the changes in agricultural practices such as increased pesticide use and the removal of hedgerows and falling into cattle grids, but also garden chemicals and road deaths have had a large impact.

Conservation

The Hedgehog is protected under The Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981) and is a species of conservation concern in the UK BAP (Biodiversity Action Plan) and was added to the Wiltshire BAP in the 2007 review due to its declining numbers.