Hedgehog been coming for months vanished
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Hi everyone I’m new here. I found a small hog in January in the very cold weather in the garden at night just pottering about. After speaking to a hedgehog rescue centre we started feeding him. Using a plastic storage box as feeding station to keep cats away. It’s been really successful he came every night to feed and we bought a camera to film him. He’s grown so much bigger in the few months we have been feeding him. However he’s now not been seen for three nights which is very unusual. I’m housebound a lot of the time while my husband is working and it’s been a source of great pleased to me to watch him coming into the garden. I feed the birds too and some of them are very used to me and come very close and even come in the house to look for food, but I’ve got so attached to the hedgehog, I know it’s silly as he(?) is a wild animal. I’m really hoping he’s gone wandering off to look for a mate. I think it’s a he as there was another bigger hog appeared one night and they were really fighting. This was some time ago and we had seen the smaller one many times since. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Hi am66
Welcome to the Forum!
Well done keeping the little hog going over the winter. It’s can be sad, as we all get so attached to the hogs, especially those we’ve known from hoglets, but males tend to start creating their own ranges when they get a bit older and may move away a bit. If they stayed in the same range where they were born it would likely lead to inter-breeding with family members, so it makes sense.
Although we can’t be 100% sure what is happening in this case, if it is that, it would be down to you helping the little hog through the winter that he had the chance to move on with his life, and hopefully meet some females and do his bit towards the next generation. So don’t be too sad. You have done well for the little hog.
Nothing is for certain that any similar situation will be the same, but when I had a lovely, very distinctive looking, male hoglet (which I was very attached to – so I don’t think it is silly at all) visiting some years ago, he moved away gradually. So he used to ‘disappear’ for a few days and then return, but the absences began to be for longer periods. That hog will always be a special hog in my memory. But, there is a chance that the little hog you helped will return occasionally.
If he doesn’t return, the good news is that if there is one hog in the area, there are likely to be others – not least his Mother and any potential siblings. The females tend to come out of hibernation later than the males, so there is still time for females to return from hibernation.
So, bearing in mind all that, I would continue to leave out food and water in the hope that either that hog or some other hogs will visit. Fingers crossed that you will be lucky and have more hogs to watch soon.
Good luck.
Hi ,
Thank you so much for replying. It has made me feel a little better. I’m hoping that this is the case he’s wandered off to find a mate. Still no sign of him but have kept putting food out in case others show up. It’s got quite cold again today so not sure any females will be coming out of hibernation yet but obviously won’t be too long.Please help me! 🙁
I’ve been putting out hedgehog food in my plastic feeding station since in my front garden since January, I had one large male hedgehog visiting for a few weeks. He disappeared on may 1st and a bowl of empty food has been sitting in my feeding station for almost two months now, no camera footage, no sign of any single hedgehog. For some background information I live two quiet roads away from a huge nature reserve, lots of hedgehogs there. But I don’t know why my hedgehog doesn’t visit anymore. On my street, there is no connectivity between gardens so any hedgehogs foraging up the street would use side enterance to back gardens or forage on front lawns. Thanks 🙂Please see reply at: https://www.hedgehogstreet.org/forums/topic/query-unusual-behaviour/#post-43247
Just an update that the hogs are back and have been for a couple of months now. When we had an extended period of dry hot weather they appeared again, I’m guessing that’s because there was a shortage of slugs worms etc. I think there may be three now but at least two and think two are male as they have been caught on my trail camera fighting or pushing each other in the feeding station! Thinking of setting up another one to try and stop this.
Hi am66
That’s good news that some hogs are back.
It wouldn’t do any harm to set up another feeding station, but the male hogs may still biff each other, not least on the way to and from the feeding station. The dominant hog might also try to claim both! Although he can’t be in two places at once, so at least the other one will have more of a chance.
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