Wednesday 16 November 2011

Hedgehogs


Before moving to this country, I had never seen a hedgehog before.  There are no hedgehogs native to America, just as there are no porcupines native to U.K.   I also naively thought hedgehogs were related to the porcupines, but there is no connection between the two, besides the fact they both have quills of some sort.  A few weeks ago my kids and their friends saw a hedgehog out front by our house.  The kids ran down and took some photos and were bemused for a while but eventually I had them come in. They were concerned as it had a few ticks on its body.  We didn’t do anything.  I remembered a friend had contacted a local hedgehog rescue centre after finding one wrapped up in sweaters in her garage.  I contacted the centre regarding the hedgehog that we had seen and they said hedgehogs are rarely out in daytime unless they are unwell and if we were to see it again might be worth bringing in. We haven’t seen it again yet, but it did start me on a campaign to learn more about hedgehogs.  There are lots of different breeds of hedgehogs but the European hedgehog is the one that is in decline. This is mainly because of badgers and foxes that like the hedgehog delicacy and also because of their unfortunate encounters with cars.  Combine that with trimmers and slug pellets and you have a species that is on the endangered list.  Hedgehogs are good climbers and swimmers and enjoy snacking on peanuts, raisins, berries, melons and mushrooms.  The end of November is a busy time for hedgehogs as a lot of juvenile hedgehogs come out then to strike out on their own.   To learn even more about hedgehogs or to support the cause please contact:
www.pricklytales.wordpress.com or prickly tales on Facebook (only Oxfordshire rescue centre)
www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk  This site also has a wealth of information and good colouring pages for kids!

3 comments:

  1. HI there love your blog about hedgehogs. I learned a lot by reading it. I shall certainly put out some berries for the young ones. I'll also keep an eye out for any that seem to be in trouble. DeeDee x

    ReplyDelete
  2. I had a friend who had a pet hedgehog when I was in middle school but I loved seeing hedgehogs in our garden. I say 'loved' because I don't think we've had any in the last couple years.
    One night I stepped out back off the step and threw something away in the out door garbage can and turned around to go in and froze there was the biggest hedgehog I had ever seen! I was whispering loudly to my husband to come out. He thought I was crazy he just stared at me and was like 'what it's a hedgehog.'
    Then my crazy hedgehog story... Before kids my husband and I used to go to the movies and one night driving back late we saw a cat on the round about... With concern for the cat we circled around (it was very late there were no cars around) but we didn't see the cat. Then as we pulled up to the light there was a hedgehog with a kfc avalanche cup stuck on it's head and it was in the middle of the road! I made my husband put his hazard lights on even though we were the only car out there, and I got out and freed him! He ran to the side of the road and I took the cup with me to throw away properly.... A car pulled up just as I was jumping back in the car. It was so bizarre that if I my husband hadn't been there to see it I wouldn't have believed it! I would have liked to take him off the roundabout (it was a junction to the hwy/motorway ;0) but he ran away and I like to think he had a family he needed to het home too!
    I had to share my stories after reading your post! xx Lisa

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks for sharing...I bet kfc never looked the same after that! I heard that they use to have hedgehog flavoured crisps in this country in the 80s as well.

    ReplyDelete