Hedgehog Mating Behaviour ?

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Lupercal
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Joined: Tue Jan 26, 2010 11:58 am

Hedgehog Mating Behaviour ?

Post by Lupercal »

Hedgehog Mating Behaviour ?

Already submitted to RODIS. Last night around 21:30 while calling the cat in for the night, I heard a regular breathy "chuffing" sound coming from somewhere on the front lawn. I had spotted an adult hedgehog there the previous night and thought it might be that, though the sound was unlike the snuffling and grunting i've heard before from a foraging hedgehog. Having got my torch, I discovered two adult hedgehog engaged in what I assume to be a courtship ritual - circling each other, nose to tail and in contact, with one or both emitting the regular sound.

This went on for several minutes. Then there was a rustling from the leaves in the shrubbery on the opposite side of a garden wall constructed of ornamental blocks with large holes. The larger, presumed male, hedgehog immediately broke off what I guessed might have been his unrequited amorous advance, raced across and climbed through the wall to either recommence the dance with another adult hedgehog or mate with her - couldn't make out which through the shrubbery.

Can anyone tell me if I was correct in my assumption that this was courtship behaviour - or possibly something more territorial ?

In the knowledge that the species is declining, it was rewarding to see at least three of them in the garden (a fourth sighting of one running down the road and across the lawn to the wall a little later may have been the abandoned female from earlier).

As an aside, I've had a soft spot for these little creatures since rescuing a very young one during a heat-wave some years ago. Realizing it was in distress as it remained motionless on the patio paving in the full heat of the afternoon sun, I put a bowl of water down a few feet away. It immediately ran over to it and took a long drink. I then put another bowl of moist cat-food down which it also instantly detected, climbed into the bowl and scoffed the lot. As it showed no inclination to leave the patio, I found some stones and built a little den for shade which it retired into as soon as I completed it. Although totally at liberty to wander off, it made its home in the makeshift shelter and enjoyed the regular free food and water for several weeks before eventually moving off into the garden at large where I often saw and heard it foraging in the evenings. I was struck by the intelligence and tameness of the tiny animal, which immediately grasped what was on offer and happily climbed into my hand to seek out food from my fingers where I'd mashed it up a bit smaller for it to eat.

Bill Hardwick

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