Hi Scratch
It’s good to hear there are hogs around there.
I’m not sure with regard to the Big Hedgehog Map – just tracks may be a problem, actual sightings maybe being more reliable from the general population. (But, male hogs, in particular, can travel up to 2 miles a night so could spread their tracks quite widely. Also at this time of year it may be that some younger males may be trying to move to a different local population.) I’ll try to find out for you and there may be some other way that track observations might be useful.
Re. hogs in the countryside, it probably depends quite a lot on what sort of countryside you have around you. If there is suitable habitat for hogs in the countryside around you, (i.e. woodland edge, hedges, pasture, etc)., there is no reason why hogs shouldn’t be there. But large areas of the countryside, in general, are not suitable habitat for the hogs – i.e. large expanses of monoculture, few or no hedges, etc. They need to have potential nesting areas, as well as being able to find sufficient food.
Gardens, whether they are in country villages or in suburban areas provide an ideal habitat for hogs, mimicking the woodland edge and hedgerow areas which are their preferred habitat – so it’s not surprising that many hogs have taken to those sorts of areas. Not forgetting, of course, the other advantages of supplementary food as well as water sources offered by humans!
I’ll get back to you re. tracks and Big Hedgehog Map. Meanwhile, happy hog watching!
