Badger has eaten one of my hedgehogs

[Mavisness]

Badger has eaten one of my hedgehogs.
Advice please, should I keep putting food out for my hogs? My fear is the now the badger knows where it can get an easy meal it will take the others. I did have 3 hedgehog visitors.
Captured on my camera trap.

[Nic]

Hi Mavisness

Sorry to hear about the poor hog.

Do you know for sure that the badger killed the hog? You say captured on camera trap – did you mean the badger actually killing the hog was captured? If so, that must have been distressing viewing.

Also do you know if the badger is resident in the area? If badgers are resident in an area, the hogs tend to move out, but it would probably be best if you stopped feeding them. Not an ideal time of year to stop feeding but better to have to find their own food than be food for the badger. If badgers are resident and one has killed a hedgehog, there would be nothing to stop it killing more, if, as you suggest, it thought it was an easy source of food.

If by chance the badger was only passing through, you might eventually be able to start feeding hogs again.

[Johnboy7]

Hi Mavisness
Do you know for sure that it was a Badger killed the hog?
Been watching our local Badgers in the Woods for Quite a wile now and have not seen them kill a hedgehog in all the sightings I have had so Far. Badgers much prefer Worms and other types of food. Think Hogs are not there main meal only if they are competing for the same food and the food is very scarce in that location a hunger badger then may turn on a Headgehog for food.

There are other predators out there that could also readily take a hedgehog.
Raptors i.e. Birds of pray are more than equipped to take a Hog. Many Raptors are now recovering in the UK after there decline due to interferance of Man. Since being reintroduced in some places across the Uk. In our area we used to see a lot of rabbits but over the years they have seemed to have declined, but Raptors like the common Buzzard have increased.
Also in areas like the Forest of Dean where wild Boar exist they will also kill and eat Hogs for food.
It Takes a while for Nature to balance itself out again. Where Predator & Pray return to an equilibrium.

Man made Problems like, Roads, Slug pellets, feeding Hogs Milk, Loss of habitat, Pet Dog encounters both in Gardens & Wild can all have an effect on the wildlife around Us. Roads are the biggest killers of Hogs, Rabbits, Foxes, Badgers and Many other animals. Animals are killed on our roads every year trying to cross them due to habitat loss.

Nature on the other hand Pray or Predator will balance themselves out with out interference from Man.

Any thing we can do to reduce these Man made Problems would be the best idea. Provide Hog hole to allow them to move freely. A ban on pesticides like Slug Pellets.
Make Underpasses across roads from field too field allowing animals to access land safely. Study the Land for Housing development first for impact on the local wildlife and create green spaces to protect wildlife in the Housing Development plan.
Try not to encourage hogs in to the garden with food only in the colder months and Milk a NO NO!
There is plenty of natural food for hogs to eat like Slugs, Worms & insects in a Garden. This will also reduces pet encounters in the garden.

When walking a dog where possible in wild habitats like forests etc keep them on a lead. This will reduce chances of them interfering with Hogs in the wild.

This is what we need to do as Nature will take care of itself if Man just interferes with it less and Just enjoy what we have around Us.

Take nothing but Photographs leave nothing but footprints.

[Nic]

Hi Johnboy7

Badgers are hedgehogs main natural predator and they will eat hedgehogs. Perhaps in the area you were watching the badgers, hedgehogs were not resident. But, badgers do also compete with hedgehogs for food.

Of course, if there was sufficient suitable habitat the two species (hedgehogs and badgers) would likely reach their own natural balance (even if that did involve some hedgehogs probably being eaten by badgers in the process). However, the situation which we have, as things stand, is that there is not sufficient suitable habitat for that to happen. Whether we like it or not humans always come into the equation so that whilst “Prey or Predator will balance themselves out without interference from Man” may be true. Man does interfere, whether intentionally or not.

The various threats to hedgehogs is a complex topic and someone could probably write a whole book about it. But there is no point putting hedgehogs in danger’s way by feeding them where there are badgers regularly in the area.

Some foxes will also kill hedgehogs. Not so sure buzzards, etc. would be so much of a problem as they are normally around during the day and hedgehogs at night. But they might feed on dead hedgehogs which they come across in the same way that they are likely to feed on dead rabbits.

But yes, I agree that humans are the biggest threat to hedgehogs in various ways. Their biggest threat, but also their best chance of salvation.

[Author]

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