Hi Hogmeister
Good to hear the hog there has been putting on weight. The over-wintering hog here was one that didn’t hibernate. That is the second year running that has happened. Both were hoglets and it would be interesting to know if it is more likely to happen with a first winterer rather than an adult. I don’t think it necessarily matters if they don’t hibernate, as long as they can get enough food and water. The hog here did a fair amount of foraging on the grass, etc. as well as what I fed, so there must have been natural food around, to a degree.
I think there needs to be more research about exactly how many are not hibernating and what age group they come from – i.e. hoglet or adult. Maybe this is something which will be done in the future.
When they wake up from hibernation, it isn’t an instant thing, so not surprising if they are not quite so active to start with, especially if they have not fed yet. I have a returner here, now. He turned up one night but I didn’t see him the next, but last night he was here again. I wasn’t too worried – although he had turned up before I put the food out the first night(!) – because I remember that happening before. They are possibly a bit more tentative than usual when they first wake up, as well, until they refamiliarise themselves with their usual haunts, etc.
How lovely if the hog is using your hog pile, although he may have come from further afield and been hunting for beetles – equally good – bearing in mind how much ground they can cover in a night.
