Hi daffydill
I think where the nights are shorter in the Summer, there is more opportunity for people to interact with hedgehogs – with short nights, the hogs inevitably have to venture out during daylight to be able to get sufficient food – so it makes it more likely that they will encounter humans, or humans will encounter them. So it’s probably easier to encourage them to become habituated to humans, and possibly also easier for it to happen inadvertently, if care isn’t taken to avoid it.
There is, a difference in the hedgehogs in different areas. The following is a quote from ‘Hedgehogs’ by Pat Morris:
” ….. The remaining genus Erinaceus is the one to which the British or brown chested hedgehog belongs. In eastern Europe and across into Russia, the local hedgehogs typically are bigger than ours and have a white chest. This and some other minior features mean that they are classified as a different species, Erinaceous concolor…. “
(The hogs here are Erinaceus europaeus)
After that it becomes a bit complicated and not easy to work out where one species starts and the other ends. Also Erinaceus concolour seems to be divided into two different types. There are some quite complicated looking scientific papers online, if you are interested in that sort of thing.
I did wonder, when I first saw Jen’s videos, whether there could be some slight difference, in that the hogs in Jen’s videos from Sweden seem to have pale fur, in relation to most of those found in the UK Although, it might of course be something particular to the hogs in that area. It’s not always easy judging the size from video, either and in any case, the hogs here vary in size quite a lot.
The hogs won’t mind if your garden is a bit untidy (or even if it is tidy!). As long as it has plenty of homes for beetles, caterpillars, etc. for them to eat, (as well, of course, as nesting sites) they’ll be happy. Won’t be long until the hibernators begin to return. Looking forward to that!
Good luck to you and the hogs there. Hope you have a happy hog year.
