Sorry to resurrect an old post, what was the outcome with the badger and hedgehogs in your garden Mavisness?
The same thing has been happening in my garden since approx spring of this year (2024).
I’ve lived in this house, with a large woodland garden, for 23 years and have been feeding the hedgehog and fox visitors during this time. I have video footage of hedgehogs and foxes literally feeding side by side, ignoring each other.
One night back in late spring I heard the most awful screaming and when I went to investigate I came face to face with a badger who had a large balled up hedgehog in front of him. The badger scuttled off and I picked up the screaming hedgehog and checked it over. No blood or visible injuries.
I couldn’t leave it in the garden in case the badger came back for it, so I decided to keep it safe overnight and take it to one of our local hedgehog rescues in the morning. After a short while it uncurled and began eating the food I’d put in front of it. It looked healthy and well. It had had a lucky escape.
The rescue said it was a pregnant female and she gave birth to 6 babies in their care two weeks later!
That was the first time I’d seen a badger in my garden in 23 years. A few days later I found three of my hedgehog houses strewn across my garden, one house had its roofed ripped off. I placed heavy paving slabs on top of all the hedgehog houses and they haven’t been moved since.
The badger has been visiting regularly since then. The foxes weren’t initially happy about its presence, I have footage of a fox sneaking up behind the badger and nipping its back leg, then darting off quickly before the badger could react! Since then, both fox family and solitary badger ignore each other while feeding.
I hadn’t encountered any further probs with the badger until I checked my trail cam yesterday and saw the badger pounce on a hedgehog. I couldn’t watch the outcome, I switched video off. But this morning I found a half eaten hedgehog in my garden.
I’m so distressed. I read online if there’s plenty of food for all, the badgers will leave the hedgehogs alone. This simply isn’t true.
So sorry for the lengthy essay! Thank you for reading and any advice will be greatly appreciated.
