Hi Penny
Numbers of adults have gone down here too, but, like with you, they did last year as well. Only one or two persistent males around (ones which are normally a bit lower down the ‘pecking order’!) The mature females here last night, very sensibly, don’t seem that interested in the boys any more. If they got pregnant now, any potential hoglets would be unlikly to have time to put on enough weight for hibernation. But also like you, the numbers of hoglets are well down on this time last year. There were the three early ones here, but none since. One mature adult female is missing – bit of a worry as she is the one who used to come through the building site garden – and two younger females. Potentially, all could be on hoglet duties. Otherwise, not sure what is happening re. hoglet numbers – although having said that, last year was a bumper year here for hoglets. But hope there aren’t going to be too many that need over-wintering.
Re. the husk, I read somewhere recently (but can’t remember where it was so can’t find it again at the moment!) that foxes don’t leave such a ‘clean’ husk as badgers do.
Came across the following which gives the top 7 reasons for deaths of hedgehogs which went to a wildlife hospital. Ok, they were in Kent, where there may not be as many badgers around as, say, Devon, but even so, it tells it’s own story.
http://www.uksafari.com/hedgehogs5.htm
