Well it seems that I was a bit premature in judging our hedgehogs as being better behaved than the youth of today. Several shocking incidents over the past week, I am forced to admit, have proved me wrong. I usually leave a couple of dishes of food around the garden as well as in the feeding station, but after an influx of ravenous felines and the return of the ‘cat from hell’ I have had to remove them in the interest of the hogs safety, after a particularly nasty outburst was caught on camera. To make amends I upped their rations of kitten biscuits in the feeding station and also treated them to a dish of wet Spikes. The following morning as I lifted the lid on the diner, I was greeted by a swarm of blue bottles and a stomach churning mess! Most of the wet Spikes had been thrown out of the dish and trampled into the floor along with as many number two’s as they could possibly muster. Even the half a dozen mealworm garnish had been cast aside, whilst every biscuit had been eaten, leaving me in no doubt that this was yet another of their prickly protests.
But that was nothing compared to the shocking behaviour on the drive in full view of the neighbours! Whilst hubby was busy in the garage one night with the door wide open, he was alerted to the familiar huffing sound of the pricklys courtship dance. A bit late in the year he thought for such seedy goings on, but there in the full glare of the fluorescent lights was young Nagini and yet another male suitor cavorting around a box plant. Standing only a couple of feet away, they paid no attention to his presence and carried on regardless…have they no shame! I’m pretty sure that Nagini, at just 4 months old, is too young to produce offspring, but if not we could potentially be seeing newborn hoglets in December!!!
Meanwhile, I’m fairly certain that I spotted TT and Bruno on camera the other night and a couple of new juveniles which is reassuring, but no new sightings of the now elusive Brenda. Sven (the blackbird that thinks he’s a hedgehog!) is still in hiding with the rest of his mates awaiting his new set of feathers – or spikes – and only comes out at dusk. 🙂
