Sex!
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After much examination my hegies all seem to be boys! They all conveniently have a good scratch just in front of the camera so I am getting a good view of their bits – but no girls as far as I can tell! Is this typical male/female ratio? I’m not going to get any hoglets at this rate!
Hi Dwarfhog
It isn’t a typical male/female ratio, but males have a larger ‘range’ than females, so it may be that you are just outside a female’s range. If that is the case at least one of the male’s ranges may overlap with a female’s and so hoglets could materialise. In my experience, there are usually a few more males visiting than females, but some of them visit less often.
I only have one of the females visiting from last year. She will be 5 years old this year, so is a mature female. Two of the missing ones had been visiting for 3 years and 2 years respectively, up to last year, so I fear they may no longer be around. It is very worrying that the survival of this population of hogs, which has previously been fairly stable, may rely on one 5 year old female and a selection of males. In the back of my mind is always the ghastly A24 trap as well as poor feeding and excessive marking which could possibly impact on hog numbers.
Thanks Nic. I’m not planning to mark my hogs to tell them apart! I know I have 3 visiting – having seen them all at the same time – which is 2 more than I thought I had, so bonus! I will continue to inspect their bits when they let me and hope to find a girl. We live just off a nature reserve along the River Blackwater so I know there are other hogs around. I havent given up on hoglets yet!
If you want to tell the hogs apart, they do all have slightly different natural markings, if you look closely. It does, though add to the worry, when you know individual hogs! I am considering not trying to recognise them when this old girl is no longer with us – she is one of those hogs you just can’t help recognising – a real character.
Sounds a lovely place, where you are. Good luck with the hogs and I hope a female turns up or at least some hoglets.
Yes it is lovely – until the river floods then not quite so nice! We are 2 houses up from the river so have been lucky – hope not tempting Providence! But we do get lots of birds, – ducks, swans, herons (not popular with neighbours who have fishpond!): little egret, owls, woodpeckers plus the usual garden birds. Not sure about badgers, but we do see the occasional fox and muntjac. I didn’t realise we had so many local hedgehogs until I started watching them. I now know of about 15 other houses where they are being ‘proactively’ fed – mostly around the nature reserve, houses that back on to the Norwich/London railway line and ones that surround our recreation ground. Some of us probably ‘share’ some of the same hogs but it’s just lovely to see them. Ours visit any time from about 7.30pm, right through the night on and off until about 5. They don’t seem too bothered by people – I opened the feeding station to add feed one night to find two inside waiting! Also amazed to see how much they drink! I have a shallow saucer about 8 inches across and they just wade in feet first! Haven’t been able to identify any individuals yet but think we have a juvenile plus 2 bigger adults – all boys! One episode of biffing in the feeder plus one being rolled under the fence Bly the other one! Super!! Btw, I now have a new Bushnell camera – going well so far! Agressor HD 24 if that means anything. Early birthday present from my beloved!
It sounds a lovely place DwarfHog with all those animals and birds. Railway line edges are often good habitat for hogs as well, even if it is worrying when they come to clear the vegetation. I live near a railway, too, and they usually write to warn us they are going to do work. That is always a cue for a phone call to warn them to look out for hedgehogs, not only here but all along the tracks elsewhere in the country.
I agree, it is funny how some hogs seem to delight in walking through their water! It doesn’t seem to bother them if it gets mucky. It seems to vary from hog to hog. Some just put their front feet in and some not at all. But if they are in a hurry and the water is in the way – well that’s no obstacle for a hog!
Well done with the camera – always best if it’s a present! Hope you get loads of good images. Good luck.
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