Hi Tina
It is quite early, still. But the weather has been so strange this year with alternating mild and cold spells. It’s possible a hog may have come out of hibernation for the year, but it’s also possible that it was an interim ‘wake up’ and that it might go back into hibernation again. They apparently sometimes wake up and even build new hibernating nests during the course of hibernation time.
But the males do tend to come out of hibernation earlier than the females – usually March, but it isn’t that long now. [The females up to 2 months later (but they go into hibernation later). It gives the males a chance to put on condition before the females turn up and they then use up a lot of energy on courtship ‘dances’!] Just hope we don’t have another cold spell in March like we did last year!
There is also the possibility that a non-hibernator might be exploring further afield if the weather is mild.
I think it’s a good idea to leave food and water our for them, for whatever reason they may be around.
Good luck with them all.
