Hi Sam 1404
Yes, I wasn’t suggesting that the hog you saw was out during the day, but we all need to be aware that other people read these posts and may make their own interpretations of what’s said. So it’s useful to be aware that a hog stretched out with its legs extended could be unwell, especially if it appears to be sunbathing. Being wild animals, hedgehogs can appear to be otherwise well when they aren’t.
Hedgehogs are studied, but there is the problem not only of funds but the inconvenient habit they have of disappearing into people’s gardens and into undergrowth! But in reality, you would have to ‘get into the mind of a hedgehog’ to know why it was rubbing it’s chin along the ground. Other animals rub their bodies – or parts of them- along the ground/other surfaces, so why shouldn’t hedgehogs. It isn’t an unusual behaviour. But all too often people will say, as a fact, that certain behaviours are because …. etc. when actually that is just their or someone else’s theory based on seeing the behaviour a few times, or hearsay. Then before long other people begin to state it as fact, especially in these days of social media. But there is probably something new to learn about the behaviour of many animals.
I think it would be a mistake to assume that just because someone is a vet or even a hog carer that they necessarily know any more about hedgehog behaviour in the wild than anyone else might. Any more than an expert in wild hedgehog behaviour would necessarily know any more about caring for sick/injured hedgehogs than anyone else. Some may do both, although I imagine time restraints might make that limiting. Although I can see it must be useful knowing a vet, if you have a sick or injured hedgehog.
Personally, I don’t like the term splatting used in relation to wild hedgehog behaviour. Collins dictionary definition: ‘splat is used to describe the sound of something wet hitting a surface with a lot of force.’ Not a nice thought in terms of a hedgehog, I feel.
