do hedgehogs have there own territories

[catty poacher]

just woundering if any one can give me some information on hedgehogs and territories as in my garden i have three different hedgehogs and they all come to me as soon as it starts to get dark for the scraps i put out for them. i have been told this is un commen.it took time to get them to get used to me being there but now there fine with it does any one else have hedgehogs come to them as it starts to get dark on a regular basis every year and are they the same hedgehogs that came before they when into hibernation

[Hedge Witch]

One member has written a whole load on the European Hedgehog. If there is anything I want to know, I always check out his website first :
Wildlifeonline - European Hedgehogs

Interesting stuff!

[Blackdogjnr]

The only way to be really sure is to get to know each hog intimately I guess.
Either looking for differences, and characteristics in each animal, as well as possibly weighing them or marking them (as part of study).

I have various hog visitors, but very rarely know which one is which on each occassion...

I know they have rather large territories, up to 10 gardens has been suggested, not too sure if they are particularly fierce in guarding their own areas, I assume there must be a lot of shared space and overlap.

Glad you have them visiting though, some people on here will be green with envy, consider yourself lucky.

BDJ

[treecreeper]

According to my Hedgehog book (The New Hedgehog Book by Pat Morris) you have to distinguish 'territory' from 'home range'. Home range is the area in which an animal is active, territory is an area it will defend. As you have observed, hedgehogs' home ranges overlap extensively. When hedgehogs meet they will often fight but this is to defend the place they happen to be at that moment so it is not truly territorial behaviour. They do not scent-mark or leave droppings at particular places; these would be true territorial behaviours because they warn other animals to stay away from particular locations.

[snapewoodclayts]

Hoggies trek huge distances every night, so it may just be the case that your hoggies happen to visit your garden at the same time, possibly at the start of their trek, just before/after sunset.

I have three distinct hogs which come in every night to my garden around sunset time, but it's very much the start of the route.

Conversely, I have another hog which comes in around midnight, presumably towards the middle or end of its nightly trek.

And they are the same hoggies for sure. Not territorial, just part of their range.

[snapewoodclayts]

When hoggies are together in a small space, the dominant one will snort loudly at the others who dare to get in its way - it doesn't always work that it's the biggest or eldest either. I've seen a pint-sized fella barge a huge lump of a hog out of the way before, and the huge lump ran off !