Hedgehog marks

[gtaylor]

I wonder if any one could give some advice, we have 5 hedgehogs visit us each night, one of the hedgehogs is a good size and was around last year, last year and this I have noticed a white mark on its back end, the mark is horseshoe in shape and size, the trail cam which is set up makes it very noticeable, looked close at the video and their seems to be no spines missing or damaged, not sure if the trail cam is making it stand out more than usual, very doubtful if it has been deliberately marked, the patch is more noticeable than last year but not significantly worse., all the other hedgehogs are fine in appearance. Any advice would be appreciated if you have come across this before, Thanks Gary

[stef]

Camera’s always make natural markings appear brighter. It’s possible that it was injured there at some point and the healed tissue is lighter. Alternatively it could just be a difference in prickly colour. We think they are all the same colour but they really aren’t. Those variations can be very obvious on a camera.
If it was there last year too I really wouldn’t worry about it. It’s a useful tool for you to be able to monitor it with

[Shazbat]

One of ‘my’ hedgehogs also has what look like fluorescent marks on its bum 🙂 and another group I’m in suggested this may mean it has been rescued and released at some point, and marked with fluorescent pen/water for stats/tracking. Very useful for me as well, as it confirms I get 2 hogs in my garden and I’ve christened them Sonic (predictable, I know) and – wait for it – Mark 😀

[Nic]

Just in case anyone thinks it’s a good idea to mark hedgehogs artificially to make it easier to identify them, it isn’t.

Please see:

https://www.hedgehogstreet.org/marking-hedgehogs/

As mentioned in that post, it is possible to identify hedgehogs by their own natural markings.

[Author]

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