Hi Nic,
Sorry for the late reply,
I did have another, possibly, more likely theory in as much as the shortening days put me in the mix with the hog when I put the food out which may have made his mind up that it was time to ship out.
His quick appearance after putting out the food in the last few days I saw him led me to thinking that he may have been concealed in the undergrowth watching (or maybe smelling) the danger as we are, after all, viewed as predators and rightly so as I wouldn’t want hogs to lose their fear of humans – as you have said yourself not all humans are hog friendly sadly.
I haven’t seen any signs of hogs since the 4th October food untouched and no calling cards left if you know what I mean!
Anyway I have printed off a batch of posters asking people to check for hogs before lighting bonfires and I will be distributing them locally this weekend. Hopefully it will do some good as, although I have told the immediate neighbours of the hogs presence (and they all seemed genuinely excited that we had them), a bit further a field they may not even be aware of them.
If a couple of the posters avoid the recycle bin it will be worth it and if it means that it saves a hog from a tragic end then it will definitely be worth it although I doubt I will ever find out.
