Hi Nic,
Really good to hear you have a returner in your garden.
Re not hibernating as you say I guess as long as they can find food and water then this shouldn’t be an issue and you are right that it would be good to undertake research in to non hibernating hogs especially as winters continue to get milder.
As its a work day I put the food out a bit later than the weekend (about 7.30pm) and listened for any noises and I heard something rustling in the log pile and sure enough out popped the little guy within 10 minutes or so of putting the food out and he (I know it is a he – read on!) started munching.
I’m not sure if he is living in there or just foraaging for natural food but as you say both are good and I’m not going to start disturbing anything just to find out one way or the other – let sleeping hogs lie I say! (or maybe I should invest in a trailcam)!
Just after 8pm the big fella turned up and I was worried about the little guy as I was thought he may be in for a biffing but none of it. The little guy moved straight in and got the big fella curled up in a ball in no time.
Seriously the big fella is almost twice the size of the lttile guy – I was really shocked at this outcome. Every time the big fella uncurled the little guy was back in and made him roll up again.
Well thats the first hog fight of the season over and done with but it won’t be the last whatever I do to try and keep them apart – those snouts just find each other (although this is what I guess also brings in other hogs to my garden).
Hopefully I will see more females this year (I didn’t get many last year) and I saw no hoglets at all last year (or not knowingly but I guess some of the smaller hogs may have been hoglets a bit further down in the development).
Although I see a fair number of males I do wonder what the hog health is like in my neighbourhood and how viable the population is. I know the nearby allotments had a nesting hog who had hoglets last year and they were putting out cat food for them so hope all is ok.
I also worry that, if the allotments are ever sold by the local council, this could spell the demise of the local hog population. There was a worrying time last year when the lease was up for renewal but the allotment association is strong and, with us local residents also chipping in as well as best we could, the lease was renewed.
If they were ever under threat I already have a vision of me donning a hedgehog costume and chaining myself to the fence hodling a placard saying ‘Hands Off Our Hogs’!!! I would have never have thought I would have felt so strongly about hedgehogs a few years ago but our spikey friends have got well and truly in to my psyche.
Power to the hogs!!
