Anxious Night
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Just picked up four hogs from the local wildlife hospital that were ready for release. Don’t know their background but they’re all quite large now. Cut a hole in the side of their cardboard travel box as instructed and immediately one small nose emerged and the first hog was out. It was almost pushed out by the second and followed by the third. (The fourth took about another 20 mins).
Of course, they all split up so we couldn’t keep track of who went where. Only one has eaten so far. We’ve reluctantly given up watching – it’s our bedtime. I have two cameras watching them so I may know more of what they do when I check in the morning. I hope they hang around for at least a couple of days.
Having deleted all the triggers by cats (and dogs when I let them out for a bedtime pee!) I was left with 88 videos of the hogs emerging from their box, scratching, rolling completely upside down to scratch, eating and generally shuffling around. I don’t know if they have been “fattened up” to be ready for winter hibernation but these four are the most portly hogs I’ve ever seen! Maybe they didn’t get much exercise in the hospital.
They were wandering around from release at about 8:30pm until almost 1:00am, the time at which the last one wandered out of range of the cameras. I’m hoping they’re not too far away and that we’ll see some of them tonight.
Hi lewisdad
I’m pleased you caught lots of images on camera. I think they do tend to get a bit heavier when they’re being cared for. Also I think they like to release them with a bit of extra weight as they are likely to lose it more quickly than one who has been in the wild all the time. They do look funny when they roll right over like that! It sounds as if they hung around quite a while, which is promising. Hope they keep visiting.
Just one (or possibly two) came back last night for a brief visit.
At the hospital, they were fed on what the lady there called “dog sausage” which I took to be a salami shaped plastic wrap over a paté like food – which we don’t have but of course could buy. However, as she said cat food, either wet meat variety of biscuits would be fine, we left out Felix chicken, Arden Grange dry (which our cats love) as well as the usual choice of Ark Wildlife hog food and Mr Spikes dinner – so four choices. He (or she – we had two of each) trotted up to the feeding station, had a good sniff at all four foods then trotted off!
Of to Tesco now. I hope they don’t do too many varieties of dog food like that or I’m bound to buy the wrong one.
Hi lewisdad
I’m so pleased to hear that some of them came back. I think, if they are hungry, they will eat one or other of the things you already have on offer. It might just be so exciting being free and having access to wild food, that they aren’t that hungry yet. You could go on for ever trying different things out! the felix cat food should be fine – chicken is apparently easier for them to digest than some. Not sure what Arden Grange dry is – cat biscuits? And a selection of hog food – what more could they want!
When I have released hogs here (over-wintered hoglets who did originally come from here) they didn’t eat any of the food on offer to start with, but came back later. The good thing is, at this time of year, there is still plenty of wild food around.
Keep us posted of progress.
Mine get into the most odd contortions when they scratch! They seem to manage very well despite having short legs! I look at my camera images every day and was only just thinking that I seem to just get one hog at a time now – have had up to 3 in the past – when two appeared together!! One in the feeding station tucking in to his/her Ark food and the other one running round and round the crate trying to find the entrance! They did eventually get in together but then there was a bit of biffing and the second one left!
Apart from the couple that are overall much smaller than the others, the big ones do seem quite ‘well covered’ so I am hoping they are building themselves up for a long sleep.Update:
Our neighbours have more hog activity than us but yesterday I discovered, by the fence under the clematis, a lovely round nest with a hog asleep inside. I set the camera in front of it last night and the hog came out just after midnight and spent an hour uprooting bits of my lawn(!) and taking it inside. The hog looks very overweight to me – generally fat rather than just the tummy as I’d expect if it was a pregnant female. I’ve uploaded a short video of it waddling back to the nest – let me know what you think:
When the video stops, the nest is just behind the hog and you can just about make out the entrance hole to the right of her (his) head.
Hi Lewisdad,
Great bit of film and I agree with you on the hog looking a bit overweight! Looks a bit like a miniature grizzly bear plodding along!
Presumably the hospital/rescue wanted them to be released with a bit of extra fat as insurance until they find their feet as it were, although I’m not sure this chap can even see his feet!😁I do of course have lots of film but that one shows the waddle to maximum effect 😉
I’ve put a little hay behind the nest today hoping that will save the lawn a bit. I’ve just been down to check – he’s out and about somewhere and I don’t think the hay has yet been touched. We’ll see in the morning.
We were told they were a little overweight! It was just wishful thinking that we may get some hoglets.
Hi lewisdad
I think a little overweight is a bit of an understatement! Even the ones I released here in the past, who I sometimes used to think looked a bit like queen termites, weren’t as big as that! No wonder they weren’t hungry the first night. It is still possible, though, that it’s pregnant as well – difficult to tell.
Very enterprising of it to make a nest. The hay might work to save the lawn, but hogs can be very particular about what they use and don’t always use what we want them to! If I were you, I would try to leave a selection of different materials nearby. The hog here who made a nest used mostly dry leaves (they prefer medium sized ones – weigela ones got used quite a bit here because there was a bush nearby) and long (ornamental type) grasses. But he also picked some fresh green leaves as well.
Well, it didn’t want to eat any of the four types of food I offered (although he’s had a little nibble of the Ark & Spikes now) so why should he take to my bedding material offerings!
Hee hee – perhaps he’s a new breed 😉
He seems to have a set route each night. I have two cameras – one is pointing at where he sleeps and picks him up as he wakes, has a scratch and then goes off foraging. He heads off along the fence line and disappears from the camera’s view up a rockery but is then picked up a few minutes later by the camera on the patio. From here he heads off up the garden and from there I’ve lost him until I record his return journey a few hours later.
Whilst out of sight, he could get out through a hole in the fence to an open field or he could go through into the neighbouring garden. I hope he walks miles – he could do with the exercise!
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