Hi Hoglet
Good to hear the hog there is still visiting for food.
I think it is a good idea to leave some food out during the winter. Some hogs wake up briefly during hibernation and would probably welcome some food. Then there are the ones like the ones there who come out of hibernation early and the one here who just didn’t hibernate at all. It has been particularly strange weather this year with some quite mild spells interspersed with cold spells. Maybe this is a taste of things to come – with global warming, but if so, it seems likely that there will be more hogs around during the winter and we may have to change the way we think about hibernation.
I think it is still a small minority around at the moment (certainly here) but am not sure that, in general, anyone really knows. I think it would be a good idea if some sort of survey was done of how many hogs there really are around in the winter. Otherwise it is just anecdotal. But I think it is potentially a serious problem if these sorts of weather conditions continue and hogs continue to be about in the winter unbeknownst to many.
I did try to suggest to BHPS about the possibility of a winter hog survey, but not sure whether it got through to the appropriate person. If you agree that it would be a good idea, perhaps if more than one person suggested it, it might be taken more seriously (?) Perhaps it could be done through Hedgehog Street in a similar way to the Hog houses survey.
Did you have any luck with the ticks?
