I wonder if anyone has experienced predation of hedgehogs by foxes?
Since September 2021 I fed hogs under 2 up-turned boxes in my garden; I was surprised and delighted that 3 to 5 hogs visited each night until December. Hog visits dropped off in January but 2 male hogs over-wintered in a nest box in my garden; I could see them on camera feeding at night.
In early June this year I noticed a couple of visiting hogs had injured hind legs- very upsetting to see – but they could still move fast and were difficult to catch. At the same time, a male fox occasionally visited my garden for a couple of minutes – he showed little interest in the food underneath the upturned boxes – but ran once round the garden sniffing and disappeared. I then found a dead curled-up hog in a nearby alley running between neighbours’ gardens. The hog’s underbelly had a fox-size bite taken out of it. I was shocked to see this and immediately stopped feeding hedgehogs as I was afraid a visiting fox might kill a hedgehog in my garden. I have not seen one hedgehog in my garden since I stopped leaving food out. A female fox now visits my garden at roughly 3 am to feed on slugs! I would really like to feed hedgehogs but am afraid a fox will kill them.
I’d be glad to hear from anyone who has experienced anything similar.
