Hedgehogs moving their food bowl??
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I have been feeding my local hedgehogs for the past 2 years from two small, plastic take-out boxes put at opposite ends of the garden (this keeps two of them from fighting, as we have seen them do). Recently, the boxes have been disappearing at night. For the past three mornings, I have come out to find the feeding boxes gone. One of the boxes showed up in the neighbour’s garden yesterday, and I think one of the hedgehogs might have moved it. It was around 5 meters away, but through the door we cut in the fence. There doesn’t seem to be a reason for a person to be moving them. Does anyone have any experience with this? Can hedgehogs pick up light-weight objects and carry them around?
Hi ethanshedgehogs
Do you by any chance have foxes around? Hogs will push their bowls around, or tip them over, i.e. to see if there is anything underneath (as they might if it was a stone), but don’t normally pick them up and carry them away.
I’m assuming you don’t have a night camera there?
That’s actually hilarious, I can just imagine you scouring the neighborhood for the food bowls! Sounds like something is playing with them, but as Nic says I doubt a hedgehog would move them so far. Possibly a seagull picked it up and dropped it in next door’s garden? Or was it actually wedged in the hole between the gardens?
Hi @Kitty878 and @Nic. Thanks for your replies. We have never seen foxes or seagulls in the garden before, and we don’t have a camera. This morning, the food boxes were again moved! One has disappeared entirely, perhaps into the hedgerow alongside the garden, and the other was pushed a few metres back under the hedge. I suppose its possible that the hedgehogs are pushing them along somewhere, but it’s very strange… This behaviour is quite new, only in the past week, but it is very consistent now.
Hi ethanshedgehogs
It sounds very reminiscent of reports we’ve had before on the forum, which turned out to be foxes – possibly young ones – which have recenly discovered there is food in your garden.
Seems likely it would be something nocturnal, otherwise you might have noticed something.
Thanks, @Nic! You’re right—it must be a fox. Since I last posted, I have lost 3 more little food boxes. Last night, I weighted one down with quite a heavy rock and put the food in on top. This morning, it was moved to the other side of the path, with the rock still in it. There is no way a hedgehog did that! The other night, I also heard quite a large animal going over the back wall. It’s about 3 metres tall, but I gather foxes can climb well. I read about a fox in Berlin that had amassed a hoard of well over 100 flip-flops… I guess this one is getting a collection of takeaway boxes. My neighbours have loaned me their camera trap, so tonight we will reveal the identity of the box thief!
You’re right, foxes can climb well and jump much higher than people expect. Hopefully the hedgehogs are being cautious- foxes can be dangerous to hedgehogs.
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