Hedgehog Suicide pact?

[bluecow]

Driving home yesterday I was shocked by the sight of not 1 but 18 hedgehogs dead on the road within about a 5 meter stretch! They must have been killed at roughly the same time, as they werent there when I drove past about an hour previously.

Its a busy road 40mph limit 2 lanes each way (and a bus lane) in the middle of 2 housing estates, and one I travel every day.

I stopped the car on the way home when the road was quieter to count the exact numbers . They were all of similar size and all adults I think.

Does anyone have any idea as to what could have caused this? Why so many in one spot?

Whats really frustrating is that there is a hedgehog underpass about 100 meters away from where they were all killed .

[htcdude]

I don't know much about Hedgehogs, maybe they travel in groups? I guess this group were on their way somewhere and had to cross the road to get there. Is there any work going on in the area that could've disturbed them caused them to leave their hibernating place?

It seems a bit odd that Hedgehogs would decide to be on the move in this cold weather.

That's all I can think of I'm afraid!

Nige

[bluecow]

Hiya Nige

Thanks for your reply.

As to the general neighbourhood, no roadworks, and the building works for the new college building finished some 5 months ago. It seems like really odd behaviour!

[mbaldw]

Interesting observation, bluecow. Hedgehogs aren't renowned for travelling in groups; the only time you tend to see several in one place is either a mother with hoglets in the late summer, or males chasing a female during the spring and summer. I've not seen, or come across any reports of, hedgehogs aggregating during the winter, when most should be in hibernation.

My best guess is that the hedgehogs were attracted to that stretch of road. Some animals are attracted to roads because they tend to be warmer than the surrounding ground and their rough grassy verges offer a good chance of a meal. Some animals (although I'm not aware of this applying to hedgehogs) are attracted by the salt/grit used on the roads during the winter. We've had some very cold nights recently and this can cause hedgehogs to arouse from hibernation and go out looking for food - if the temperature drops too low (i.e. the temp in the hibernaculum get below about 1oC) the hogs are in danger of freezing to death if they stay in hibernation. So, I'd guess that the hogs 'woke up' and went looking for something to eat and the local roads/verges offered the best chance of a meal in the sub-zero conditions.

Whatever the reason, it's a sad loss to the population of a species that already appears to be declining in Britain.

Cheers,
Marc.

[bluecow]

Hiya Marc

Thank you for replying. I think you might be right with your theory about the road verges offering a better chance for a meal. The temperatures here have been extreemly cold but there seems to be little frost around the edges of those roads. I'm guessing that makes it a prime spot for finding food.

Its just so odd that 18 of them would congregate in such a small spot, another mystery of the natural world.

[CharlieCreek]

This would seem to be very suspicious to me.

Hedgehogs are solitary, sometimes autumn juveniles will over winter together but even so a litter is 4 to 6 hogs.

For there to be 18, in very close proximity and all with a similar time of death would be very suspicious add in to the fact that they should be in hibernation at the moment and it beggars belief. It is becoming a rare sight to see 1 dead on the road these days.

In a situation such as this my first action would have been to contact the local wildlife crime officer as I can see no other explanation than them being dumped there already dead. As to how anyone apart from a rescuer would have access to that number of hedgehogs unless systematically finding their hibenaculars I don't understand.

[bluecow]

Oh hell I had not thought of some sinister reason! I will report it to the warden... Should I report it to the police too?

[CharlieCreek]

18 dead hedgehogs suddenly in one spot in the space of an hour certainly isn't a natural event, so yes I would report it both to a site warden if there is one and find out the police wildlife crime officer for your area. 18 dead hedgehogs is a massive number.

It would help if they are also still there as autopsy should be carried out to determine cause of death.

[Hedgehoggy]

No way would 18 hedgehogs be victims of road kill within a 5 metre spot, all taking place within 1 hour, and especially at this time of year when they should be hibernating.

They’ve been dumped there, presumably to look like road kill. As Charlie says, this needs reporting pronto. Any chance you could go back and retrieve a couple of the bodies if they haven’t been predated or too squashed by traffic? If there isn’t a local wildlife crime liaison officer based at your nearest police station, your nearest wildlife/hedgehog rescue centre may be able to help with this if you contact them asap. DEFRA may also be interested in this and may be able to advise further.

Out of interest, can you be sure the hedgehogs were our native species and not one of the species bred for the pet trade, eg African pygmy hedgehog? Either way, this will still need reporting.

It would be interesting to see a photo of the carnage and/or a close-up of one of the dead hedgehogs, for ID purposes.

Do please keep us updated on any developments, and well done for noticing something wasn’t right about this.

[mbaldw]

Originally Posted by Hedgehoggy

No way would 18 hedgehogs be victims of road kill within a 5 metre spot, all taking place within 1 hour, and especially at this time of year when they should be hibernating. They’ve been dumped there, presumably to look like road kill.

What a disturbing thought! I thought after I posted previously that my suggestion was very unlikely, given the numbers involved, but confess that dumping (as has previously been intimated for badgers) never crossed my mind!

Cheers,
Marc.