Hedgehogs After Dark: Fighting

8th June 2020

It’s the fifth week of Hedgehogs After Dark and we’re looking at aggression in hedgehogs and the fights they get into.

Hedgehogs have home ranges they like to keep to, but are not territorial so will not fight to defend these areas. However, when it comes to sharing the same food bowl on your patio, or vying for the attention of a local female ‘hog, you can definitely get some pushing and shoving between males.

Don’t worry, this behaviour is absolutely normal.  Often one hog will push itself into another, making the other one curl up in a ball. Some really pushy hedgehogs may even continue to push this new “spiky ball” around the garden like a game of croquet, but eventually, both hogs will move on and act like the whole thing didn’t happen.  During this ‘hog beef, you may hear lots of huffing and puffing, but again it’s all very natural.

**Hedgehogs After Dark has now finished, but you can check out the highlights on our YouTube channel, and log hedgehog sightings on the BIG Hedgehog Map!**