APH
WILDLIFE IN ATHENRY
by Tony Kilcommons
The hedgehog is a familiar inhabitant of our town parks, gardens, cemeteries, railway banks and waste ground. Suburban gardens, in particular, provide the hedgehog with an ideal summer and winter home under compost heaps, behind hedges, and tucked away in odd comers. Its small size and nocturnal movements make it inconspicuous, so much so that people have these spiny creatures in their gardens without even realising it. They find plenty of food in gardens such as worms, slugs and beetles. They will also eat bread left out for birds and milk left out for cats.
Gardeners may be doing themselves and the hedgehogs a serious disservice by using artificial means of getting rid of pests, rather than relying on the natural resources of the hedgehog to do the job. The use of various pesticides results in the slow poising of invertebrates, which are then eaten by hedgehogs. They in turn accumulate small doses of poison which build up in the fat deposits laid down during the autumn in readiness for hibernation. As the animals eke out their fat reserves over the winter, the poison is released, and many hedgehogs must surely suffer as a result. Hedgehogs accumulating poison may account for sickly ones found wandering about gardens in a dazed fashion in broad daylight. It could also account for the curious hedgehog behaviour like running in circles, as often reported, or the staggering gait that appears to be a prelude to death.
The adult male weighs 28-40ozs and the body is about 10 ins. long with the female generally smaller – 17-25ozs. Colour is brown, rarely albino. Spines on the back and sides are dark brown with lighter tips. Breeding season is usually May to July and litters consist of two to seven, of which approximately 20% die before leaving the nest. There are very few predators that prey on hedgehogs because of their spines, but foxes, badgers and dogs may kill some especially when young before the spines harden. It is amusing to watch a dog attacking an adult hedgehog. Needless to say it is done very carefully, which also must be the approach of hedgehogs themselves during the mating season. Hedgehogs of course hibernate in winter in a nest of leaves from deciduous trees under brambles, or a hedge called the hibernaculum.
