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Old 21-10-2009, 08:45 PM
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mbaldw mbaldw is offline
Officer of the Wild Empire
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: New Forest, Hampshire
Posts: 577
Re: suprise hedgehog

Hi nibbler,

welcome to the forums.

Quote:
are foxes a threat to hedgehogs?
A good question - and one that has divided folk for many years. In my experience foxes tend either to ignore hedgehogs (especially if there is food in the offing) or to be curious of them. The curiosity typically takes the form of sniffing and/or pawing and is often associated with repeated jumps back to a safe distance. Were the hedgehog to uncurl and make a break for it, it seems quite likely that the fox may 'have a go', but most seem to get bored fairly quickly. Overall, I would say that where any significant predation does occur, it is generally by an individual (or several if there has been some form of memetics, or "cultural transmission") that has learned to 'target' hedgehogs. A similar situation seems to be true of badgers, although badgers are much stronger animals than foxes and have little trouble opening a hedgehog with their forepaws. When you look at the literature, records of hedgehog remains generally appear more often in badger diets than fox diets.

If you're interested, I cover this subject in a little more detail on my website.

As Hedgehoggy has mentioned, dogs also tend to be a problem, not least because many tend to spot the movement, lunge and snap. In cases where I have seen this, it is generally more painful for the dog (when it gets a nose full of spines), but I have little doubt that it can sometimes lead to injury of the hog. The vet probably sees quite a few because a responsible dog owner would probably bring the casualty in for treatment, or it could be picked up in a nearby garden by a caring soul.

Cheers,
Marc.
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Marc Baldwin
My Website - Wildlife Online

Last edited by mbaldw; 21-10-2009 at 08:47 PM.
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