(c)2024 AVBWG
I have watched hedgehogs since the 1970s as they used to visit the garden where I was living. I learnt that when building wildlife ponds, no matter how small, to put in stones so that if a hog did fall in it could get out and now drown -learnt the hard way.
Another thing that I learnt was to always check drain gratings when I moved to a new place and if a grating had not been put in place I fixed one in -again, learnt the hard way.
I've seen the whole killing by slug pellets, rat and mouse poison left out by householders where a hedgehog can get at it and even local authority "pest controllers" have placed poison where it was accessible by hedgehogs. One told me that "This (poison) won't affect hedgehogs just rats" which was an outright lie as was the "Once rats are killed by the poison it cannot be transmitted to another animal like a cat". Firstly, it is not "transmitted" it is digested by the animal eating the rat. I found that cats and particularly foxes can clear your rat problem quickly. These days I use (indoors) sonic deterrents -these do work and they are not harmful but just make it unpleasant for rodents to come indoors. Outdoors there are cats as well as various other non lethal deterrents. Local authorities and pest control use poisons and inhumane traps because the authority can be seen to be doing something and the tenant doesn't care about wildlife just getting rid of rodents. Pest controllers are there to make money.
I used to record car related hedgehog deaths in the area and there were a lot. All of these things take their toll on a population that used to be subject to bounty killing as a potential threat to ground egg laying "game birds" and just for the fun of it because "The gardeners friend" is as innocent of causing damage as the badger. Kill a hedgehog and get a couple shillings. No one questioned why and it was good beer money. Bounties paid for hedgehogs continued into the 190s and after that they were mostly killed deliberately because they were hedgehogs.
Is it any shock that hedgehogs have declined to such a low number in the countryside that they may go extinct -they are still being killed.Humans have done a great job in killing off so many species and the liberal thinkers idea of "If they go extinct we can reintroduce them later" is just woolly headed. Your native species is gone it is gone. Extinction is forever. Are there any original British mammals left today after centuries of importing to reintroduce?
In those decades of watching and studying hedgehogs there is one thing I noticed. Few are eating their traditional slug food source.
I can prove 100% that hogs are not eating as many slugs any more. In the wet weather my front door, sides of the wall are covered in slugs of various types. One evening a couple weeks ago I counted 100 or so on the pathway and doorstep and walls. Hedgehogs were out that night. On camera they ignore slugs; slugs that are in the dry food dish they eat from. I think that over the many decades -maybe over 100 years or more- hedgehogs have learnt that slugs equal death (even now people are still illegally using old slug pellets) because slugs eat poison, they eat the slugs and die: people still use illegal slug pellets -who is going to know or report them?
Once something is a threat or known as dangerous to a species then that species learns to avoid that thing. I think that is what is happening with hogs. My garden is a wildlife friendly one so with all of the slugs (blackbirds and thrush take care of snails) I should expect some really plump hedgehogs. In fact from the four or so that used to visit it seems that we are down to two and one is getting on a bit in years. Yest, hundreds of slugs everywhere and they will avoid the easy meal in front of them to eat the dry cat food (always with a water bowl nearby). Why?
Nothing about the hogs' behaviour has changed from challenging an interloper on its territory, mating rituals -only the slug eating appears to have changed.
It has been noted that hogs do better (let's say "reasonably better") in towns as they are getting fed or scavenging cat food left out. Some people are making gardens more hog friendly as well as monitoring them by tail cams and making territories less inhospitable for them. I have no doubt some still do eat slugs but it does appear to be a dietary change.
A couple of years ago I had an adult hedgehog just die in the back garden. Nothing seemed to be wrong with it but I was told no one would post mortem exam it. In the last year we have had reports of a number of hedgehog deaths in the North of England and the house. When I hear of four hedgehogs found dead in a garden I have suspicions. I am currently looking at the possibility of post mortems being carried out of hogs but considering the fight to have foxes submitted for such and no one wanting to 'waste'; money on wildlife I am not hopeful.
Always record the death of an hedgehog; take a photo and add date, time found, location and anything unusual noted. Gathering evidence is the first step to discovering an issue that threatens a species. If you feel it necessary look online for the Animal Plant Health Advisory and their nearest PM centre -you will need to take the carcasse there but a PM can learn a lot.
If you want to ask anything the usual I can be messaged via Face Book at the UK National Carnivore Advisory page or Ashton Vale and Bristol Wildlife Group.
(c)2024 AVBWG
Ashton Vale and Bristol Wildlife Group.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/315237280619688
UK National Carnivore Advisory
.jpg)
No comments:
Post a Comment