Here comes the rain...

Here comes the rain 

 Falling on my head like a memory
Falling on my head like a new emotion
I want to walk in the open wind
I want to talk like lovers do
I want to dive into your ocean
Is it raining with you?

 Photo credit : Unknown

A regular visitor - her name is Sethlong (Tswana for Hedgehog)

Taken at night in my garden - Fuji FinePix 2800Zoom

Sethlong (Tswana for Hedgehog) has become a regular visit to my garden. Since her first visit a couple of years ago, she came regularly for meal worms and any other snacks I put down, sometimes staying for weeks on end. Until eventually I noticed one winter that she was hibernating near my wildlife pond, upon which I fenced the area (very large, approx. 20m long and 8m wide) and she has been with me ever since.
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The Southern African Hedgehog (Atelerix frontalis) is a species of mammal in the family Erinaceidae. It is found in Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. The average mass of a fully grown male is 350g, but Sethlong weighed in at over 400g. The females are larger than the males and all African Hedgehogs have white faces as compared to the European Hedgehog, which has a black face.

Do Not Disturb! - a nesting or hibernating Hedgehog

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If you suspect that a Hedgehog has made a nest somewhere in your garden, leave it alone! In the summer it may be a mother and babies; in the winter an animal might be hibernating. Look forward to seeing the hedgehogs again when they emerge.
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Sometimes a Hedgehog might be spotted virtually in the open, sleeping on a bed of leaves. Leave it alone, it might just be napping and, if it gets cold enough, it will soon wake to find a warmer spot. Hibernation is not continuous and periodically the hedgehogs wake up and their temperature returns to near normal. They seldom move about, but simply remain alert in the nest.
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By mid-winter, most hedgehogs will have started to hibernate. Any late-born youngsters still found wandering about on these cold winter days are unlikely to survive for very long. I never advocate removing any wild creature from nature, but in the case of very young hedgehogs, I will collect them when I find them late in the season and keep them in a fenced area where I can provide shelter for them, sometimes even keeping them in the house until the worst cold is over. The problem with keeping them inside is that they don’t know it’s winter and will spend the time awake, running about!
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Hedgehogs often make use of man-made hibernation spots like boxes or any other structures that offer protection, so think about providing a few cosy spots where the hedgies can find a safe place to hibernate or nest.

It is therefore a good idea not to remove leaf litter from your garden in winter (luckily there are lots of trees shedding their leaves in winter!), it provides a warm and safe haven for any little mammals visiting your garden.

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The Story of Hedgie

Hedgie

Hedgie, the African Hedgehog, came into my life in July 2000, at a time when I felt I couldn’t handle any more responsibilities, (I was already looking after 2 Mountain tortoises and 2 fledgling Laughing Doves, plus 2 baby Guinea fowl) and all I wanted to do was find a safe home for him as quickly as possible, but after the first hour of getting to know him, I’d lost my heart completely!

Hedgie was brought to me after being rescued from some dogs rolling him around the field, presumably quite puzzled at the prickly ball which seemed quite alive, yet yielding not one inch to any prompting or buffeting of any kind.

What attracted him to Bridgette’s garden was the garden light left on at night and under which he could snuffle around for any insects also attracted to the light. And after finding him two or three times in the morning being harassed by the dogs, Bridgette decided it was time for a change of venue for the prickly character who would not even let her catch a glimpse of anything inside the bunch of prickles.

She arrived with him one Sunday afternoon, not sure whether he was still alive or not, as he had not unrolled for quite some time. Cupping him gently in my hands, I took him to the ‘holding pen’, which was a fenced area normally housing the two baby Mountain tortoises that were currently in hibernation inside the house, snug in a box, emerging from time to time for a drink of water and a quick snack before returning to their selective corners. We left Hedgie in peace for a couple of hours and after Bridgette had left, I fetched Hedgie to make sure that he was indeed all right.

After a couple of minutes of gentle coaxing, I was rewarded with a little black nose and black hairy face (juvenile, the hairs later turn white) peering out cautiously, taking in the scene for any possible danger, flipping back into his protective covering at the slightest move. It was not long before he seemed to decide that there did not seem to be any danger and he gently uncurled into his full length, with a soft, warm tummy resting in the palm of my hand. My movements had to be gentle and slow, as he was startled very easily.

After making sure that he was in quite good health, I offered him some bread and milk (for lack of having anything else to possibly give him at such short notice, as it was in the middle of winter and insects were decidedly in short supply). He lapped at the milk quite thirstily at first and after a while ate quite a bit of the bread. He then acted quite strangely, scrambling madly in my hand and I quickly took him back to the holding pen and put him down gently. He seemed quite agitated, running around for a while and then the reason was obvious – nature had called!

Then came the task of making him a shelter in the one corner of the pond area, filled with dried grass and formed into a hollow in the one corner of the shelter. I gently put him to bed, leaving some more bread and milk and fresh water and decided to check on him later.

Hedgie's home

After dark, I went to fetch Hedgie and saw him investigating his new home, trotting the perimeters in an ever-widening circle, starting in the middle and walking the same route over and over, extending the range every couple of laps, until he had satisfied himself of where the boundaries were. Picking him up carefully (I still got pricked because he rolled into a ball, trapping my fingers inside his soft tummy!), we went into the house, where he spent some time curled up in my lap until he couldn’t resist the temptation anymore and started opening up, peering out slant-eyed, as if I wouldn’t be able to see him if his eyes were closed!

We established quite a cozy relationship, with him uncurling at the sound of my voice and peeping out to see the reason for this disturbance and if he’s not willing to be disturbed right at that moment, he does little hops combined with grunting and huffing noises, letting me know in no uncertain terms that this is not the right time for any play.

Hedgie weighing in at 450g, can go as high as 750g

His diet has progressed to canned dog food (his favorite), still the milk and bread occasionally, and any insects I collected from under rocks and bark, him delighting mostly in the large wood lice, which he virtually grabs out of my hand and devours in a flash. I also started breeding meal worms, which turned out to be his total favourite.

Come summer, and when the threat of veld fires is over, I will try and find a suitable place to release him, and I will surely miss him lying on my lap or crawling up my chest, licking any bare skin he comes across and then, to my utter horror, trying to anoint himself on my smell, prickles scraping bare skin and little claws scratching until I’m forced to return him to my lap or the floor. One thing I know for sure, it will be a great emptiness in my life once he goes.

PS : I never did release Hedgie, and he went on to spend 8 beautiful years with me, and sadly passed away in 2008, from some bowel obstruction that the vet was unable to treat. But I have been left richer for having him in my life and the memories will last forever.

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Enjoy the little things in Life...

(Pic from WiseGirl)

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A Hedgehog in your home

Caring for baby or under-weight Hedgehogs 

 Initially the food should be offered in a dropper or a plastic syringe. Each young hedgehog will need to be fed every few hours.

If you find a baby hedgehog on a summer evening, it is probably perfectly all right and is best left alone. But a hedgehog found wandering around during the day is likely to be ill or, if it's very small, might be a youngster trying to feed and fatten up before the onset of winter. It's unlikely to survive without human help, so you should take it to a vet or try to look after it yourself. 

If you find a nest of baby hedgehogs that are still blind and the mother is nowhere to be found, there is little chance that they will live, but it's obviously worth a try. I never advocate taking wild animals out of their environment so please make absolutely sure that the mother is not around by waiting until dusk to she if she might return. If she's not back by then, it's unlikely that she is anywhere nearby or might have been killed and only then may you try and rear the babies yourself. 

If they are old enough to have brown spines, it's more hopeful, but young hedgehogs are very vulnerable until they are at least 6-8 weeks old. 

The mother's milk is obviously the ideal food: it contains immune proteins which protect the babies against a variety of infections, and nothing can adequately take its place. But a variety of liquid foods may help to keep the youngsters going - give them Complan baby food, sheep's or goat's milk (not cow's milk, which is indigestible to baby hedgehogs.) 

Initially the food should be offered in a dropper or a plastic syringe. Each young hedgehog will need to be fed every few hours.

 When they're old enough they can be fed from a bowl

When they reach three weeks old and weigh about 100g, the babies should be offered a wider variety of food. Crumbled biscuits moistened with milk, bread soaked in gravy and scrambled eggs are all suitable. they can gradually move on to puppy food; two or three tablespoonfuls twice a day should be enough. As they get older - and hungrier! - this can be mixed with table scraps or tinned dog food, which my hedgies absolutely loved! 

But caring for young hedgehogs isn't just a matter of food. Hedgehogs are not well insulated and when their temperature drops , digestion becomes slower, movements slow down and gradually they become colder and less active until they die. Warmth will help to reverse this fatal tendency, but not a sharply-focused heat source such as a lamp. the best idea is a hot water bottle wrapped in a towel and frequently refilled to keep the temperature constant. 

Depending on how many hedgehogs there are, a cage or box about a square meter in area, floored with earth, newspaper or an old carpet, will provide temporary quarters. Remember that the bedding will be need to be changed DAILY. And also be aware that hedgehogs are very good at digging AND climbing! Unless the box has smooth sides, it's a good idea to edge it with something along the top. 

If your young hedgehogs prosper, you can release them into the wild when it reaches the necessary weight, I'd say about 450g, the weight they must reach before it's safe for them to hibernate, otherwise wait until spring before releasing them. 

Most of the info and pics from "Everything You Want To Know about Hedgehogs - Dilys Breese"

It takes dedication and commitment to look after hedgehogs taken out of the wild, so be sure you're up to the task before considering it. 

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Hedgehogs and fires

Just before Winter in March 2008, Golden Girl and Sethlong had 6 babies, first pink and wrinkly with soft little spines, but soon perfect little replicas of their parents.

Unfortunately, soon after they were weaned, their mother, Golden Girl, died. I found her dead early one morning under some grass and all the babies wandering aimlessly around. I couldn't find any cause of why she had died, no apparent injuries, and up until that time she had seemed perfectly healthy.

Sethlong exploring the new area

I gathered all the babies and Sethlong, the father, and moved them to a new enclosure in my bathroom court yard so that I can keep a closer eye on them. An amazing thing happened, quite contrary to Hedgehog behaviour - Sethlong seemed to take over the care of the youngsters. They would follow him all around the garden and at night I would find all 7 of them huddled together in the same box.

One of the new nesting boxes - the photos were taken at night, so I'm sorry about the quality....

It was quite a business, having to put out 7 food bowls every night, and never being sure whether Sethlong was eating the bulk of the food and whether the babies were getting enough or not.

One evening, I found Sethlong kicking out all the grass out of one of the nest boxes - couldn't figure out a reason, unless he wanted to make a new place for himself...

Sethlong threw most of the grass out of one of the nest boxes ... wonder why?

When the babies were about 12 weeks old, I took them all to our local game reserve (Krugersdorp Game Reserve), where they have a huge 4ha aviary and where I felt they would have enough space to ramble to their hearts content and also be safe from predators and the raging veld fires we experience here in South Africa every Winter.

These fires, besides being necessary for the natural evolution of things, cause massive loss of life amongst small mammals, reptiles and birds every year. Many tortoises, hedgehogs and ground nesting birds fall victim to this phenomena. But on a good note, after the fires have either been extinguished or burnt themselves out, you will see big flocks of egrets, herons and storks foraging around for crispy insects.

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Hedgehog Babies

HOW DO HEDGEHOGS FEED THEIR YOUNG? 

From birth, the mother feeds her babies with milk. She has four pairs of nipples, which seems more than adequate, even for a large litter. However, the mother herself may be short of food, especially in a spell of dry or cold weather, and so unable to feed her entire family. Approximately one in five of all baby hedgehogs dies before it is old enough to leave the nest. 

Info from "Everything You Want To Know about Hedgehogs - Dilys Breese"

 

A couple of years ago I was lucky enough that Hedgie and Sethlong had a litter of eight babies, all of which survived! I started handling them from an early age, with the result that they even started coming out of the grass whenever I called, curiously peeking to see if I have any of their favourite snacks, meal worms. And as soon as I put the worms into the bowl, they would run over and hastily crunch them all up, snuffling around the bowl to see if they missed any. When they were a couple of months old, I found a lovely home for them in the huge aviary at the Krugersdorp Game Reserve, where they were well fed and safe from the raging winter fires we experience here every year. 

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Caught in the act!

THE GAMEKEEPER'S REVENGE

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The hedgehog is welcomed by the gardener, but not by the gamekeeper; it is viewed as vermin, accused of eating the eggs and nestlings of ground-nesting birds. Some gamekeepers feel it necessary to control hedgehog numbers on their estates, sometimes killing hundreds of animals in a single year. In the 18th century, some parishes paid a bounty for each hedgehog killed.

The hedgehog only occasionally takes nestlings or eggs from the nests of pheasants and partridges. Research has shown that the major mammalian predator of game birds' nests is the fox, while domestic cats and dogs and farm machinery are just as serious culprits as the poor old hedgehog.
Info from "Everything You Want To Know about Hedgehogs - Dilys Breese"

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The Midnight Hour

WHY ARE HEDGEHOGS NOCTURNAL?

The hedgehog is well protected from predators by its spiny coat, so there seems to be no reason why it should be active only at night. But, biologically speaking, nocturnal activity has always been the norm for mammals.

The main reason for the hedgehog's night-time roamings is that its food is mostly nocturnal too. The creatures it eats are small invertebrates that are active at night to avoid other predators, or must keep out of the heat of the sun to avoid water loss.
Info from "Everything You Want To Know about Hedgehogs - Dilys Breese"

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The start of a trend?

RUNNING IN CIRCLES

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Hedgehogs were first observed to run in circles in the 1960's and the phenomenon has been reported since. There are various theories about its cause, but none has so far been proved.

However, I've watched my Hedgies running in circles for years and this is what happens : they normally start at a point, say the food bowl, and run a little circle back to the food bowl and the next circle is a bit wider and the next one even wider - this carries on for some time, with Hedgie often doubling back on his tracks and continuing in the opposite direction, even making a figure eight - until they reach a barrier, like the fence or the wall, when it stops and they then continue snuffling around to see what they can find.

This brought me to the conclusion that 'running in circles' was actually a way of establishing their boundaries and heaven forbid any stranger that should enter that circle!

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Death on the roads

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SAFETY FIRST

Dead hedgehogs lying in the road cause much concern among hedgehog-lovers - and much controversy too.

Either it means that hedgehog numbers are being depleted by these casualties, or that the population must be vigorous to provide a continuous supply of victims.

It has also been suggested that hedgehogs are gradually learning not to roll up in front of cars, but to run for it, and that the 'runners' survive and pass on their genes to future generations. But the 'runners' are just as likely to be squashed as the 'rollers-up', as they will probably find themselves in the path of one of the car's tyres.

Hedgehogs can run quite fast, but not fast enough to avoid a car; and rolling up is no defense against four wheels.

In any case, there has been too little time, in evolutionary terms, for the hedgehog to adapt its way of life to the presence of the internal combustion engine, I think!
Info from "Everything You Want To Know about Hedgehogs - Dilys Breese"

A Prickly Friend

TWO'S COMPANY

Some of the hedgehog colonies in the Scottish islands might have started simply because people like hedgehogs.

Apparently, during the second World War, members of the armed forces who were stationed there, smuggled them in, hidden at the bottom of their kit-bags, to keep them company. Some animals managed to survive the journey, and prospered in their new home. It's not the only occurrence of hedgehogs as family pets; hedgehogs on Alderney are supposed to be the descendants of animals bought from Harrods about 30 years ago!
Info from "Everything You Want To Know about Hedgehogs - Dilys Breese"

Hedgehog Country

HOME FROM HOME

Hedgehogs like to live where their food - largely insects and soil animals - is abundant, and where there are plenty of broad-leaved trees, whose dead leaves they need for making their nests. This means that hedgehogs are widely found in forest and traditional urban farmland, and also in that most artificial of habitats, suburbia.

They are scarce in wetlands, conifer forests, moorlands and mountains, where there are few nest sites and often little food.

But is the hedgehog running out of space, as the bricks and concrete spread across our countryside?

Cemeteries are an ideal habitat for hedgehogs - plenty of nooks and crannies, plenty of food, little disturbance, and no deadly traffic.

Although it is better able to cope in built-up areas than many other animals, it needs parks, gardens, cemeteries and other open spaces in which to forage and nest. If these get built over or tidied up too much, hedgehogs will die out.
Info from "Everything You Want To Know about Hedgehogs - Dilys Breese"

Safe & Sound

THE HEDGEHOG'S NEST



Unlike most mammals, hedgehogs lack the insulation of a warm fur coat. And keeping the body warm requires a lot of energy, so as it goes into winter and it gets ready for hibernation, the hedgehog's temperature drops from the normal 35ºC to that of its surroundings: 10ºC or less.

The hedgehog's winter nest, known as a 'hibernaculum', is made of grass and especially of leaves, which are weatherproof and long-lasting. The hedgehog brings leaves to the nesting site in its mouth, a few at a time. It makes a pile, adding new leaves to the centre; they are held in place by the surrounding support of twigs, brambles, brushwood, etc. It then burrows inside and turns round and round, packing the leaves flat and ending up with a warm chamber with walls up to 10cm thick.

Next winter, the hedgehog will make a new nest, even if the old one is still usable.

Getting into a Lather

SELF-ANOINTING



Self-anointing seems to be triggered by smell or taste. The hedgehog twists and turns, stretching out its tongue to lick foam all over its body. My Hedgie used to sit on my chest, licking my skin until he started frothing at the mouth and then smearing it all over his quills. He would also do the same when he came upon a cigarette but in the grass.



This hedgehog has come across a well-worn leather shoe. After sniffing it for some minutes he is stimulated to self-anoint.

Hedgehogs Down Under

A NEW WORLD

Long sea journeys have taken the hedgehog right to the other side of the world, to New Zealand.

From the 1870's onwards, colonists intending to spend the rest of their lives in New Zealand decided that hedgehogs were just what they needed to help them feel at home.


The hedgehogs took to their new country with enthusiasm, and today hedgehogs in New Zealand are probably more numerous than in Britain. But no-one seems to have taken a hedgehog with them when emigrating to Australia or America, so those countries are hedgehog-free zones.

The Story of Hedgie

"Hedgie, the Hedgehog" - watercolour in Moleskine large sketchbook - Maree

Hedgie the African Hedgehog (Atelerix frontalis) came into my life in July 2000, at a time when I felt I couldn’t handle any more responsibilities, (I was already looking after 2 Mountain tortoises and 2 fledgling Laughing Doves, plus 2 baby Guinea fowl) and all I wanted to do was find a safe home for him as quickly as possible, but after the first hour of getting to know him, I’d lost my heart completely!

Hedgie was brought to me after being rescued from some dogs rolling him around the field, presumably quite puzzled at the prickly ball which seemed quite alive, yet yielding not one inch to any prompting or buffeting of any kind.

What attracted him to Bridgette’s garden was the garden light left on at night and under which he could snuffle around for any insects also attracted to the light. And after finding him two or three times in the morning being harassed by the dogs, Bridgette decided it was time for a change of venue for the prickly character who would not even let her catch a glimpse of anything inside the bunch of prickles.

She arrived with him one Sunday afternoon, not sure whether he was still alive or not, as he had not unrolled for quite some time. Cupping him gently in my hands, I took him to the ‘holding pen’, which was a fenced area normally housing the two baby Mountain tortoises that were currently in hibernation inside the house, snug in a box, emerging from time to time for a drink of water and a quick snack before returning to their selective corners. We left Hedgie in peace for a couple of hours and after Bridgette had left, I fetched Hedgie to make sure that he was indeed all right.

After a couple of minutes of gentle coaxing, I was rewarded with a little black nose and black hairy face (juvenile, the hairs later turn white) peering out cautiously, taking in the scene for any possible danger, flipping back into his protective covering at the slightest move. It was not long before he seemed to decide that there did not seem to be any danger and he gently uncurled into his full length, with a soft, warm tummy resting in the palm of my hand. My movements had to be gentle and slow, as he was startled very easily.

After making sure that he was in quite good health, I offered him some bread and milk (for lack of having anything else to possibly give him at such short notice, as it was in the middle of winter and insects were decidedly in short supply). He lapped at the milk quite thirstily at first and after a while ate quite a bit of the bread. He then acted quite strangely, scrambling madly in my hand and I quickly took him back to the holding pen and put him down gently. He seemed quite agitated, running around for a while and then the reason was obvious – nature had called!

Then came the task of making him a shelter in the one corner of the pond area, filled with dried grass and formed into a hollow in the one corner of the shelter. I gently put him to bed, leaving some more bread and milk and fresh water and decided to check on him later.

Hedgie's home

After dark, I went to fetch Hedgie and saw him investigating his new home, trotting the perimeters in an ever-widening circle, starting in the middle and walking the same route over and over, extending the range every couple of laps, until he had satisfied himself of where the boundaries were. Picking him up carefully (I still got pricked because he rolled into a ball, trapping my fingers inside his soft tummy!), we went into the house, where he spent some time curled up in my lap until he couldn’t resist the temptation anymore and started opening up, peering out slant-eyed, as if I wouldn’t be able to see him if his eyes were closed!

We have now established quite a cozy relationship, with him uncurling at the sound of my voice and peeping out to see the reason for this disturbance and if he’s not willing to be disturbed right at that moment, he does little hops combined with grunting and huffing noises, letting me know in no uncertain terms that this is not the right time for any play.

Hedgie weighing in at 450g, can go as high as 750g

His diet has progressed to canned dog food (his favourite), still the milk and bread occasionally, and any insects I collected from under rocks and bark, him delighting mostly in the large wood lice, which he virtually grabs out of my hand and devours in a flash. I also started breeding meal worms, which turned out to be his total favourite.

Hedgie on the couch

Come summer, and when the threat of veld fires is over, I will try and find a suitable place to release him, and I will surely miss him lying on my lap or crawling up my chest, licking any bare skin he comes across and then, to my utter horror, trying to anoint himself on my smell, prickles scraping bare skin and little claws scratching until I’m forced to return him to my lap or the floor. One thing I know for sure, it will be a great emptiness in my life once he goes.

Hedgie on the step of my Studio

PS : I never did release Hedgie, and he went on to spend 8 beautiful years with me, and sadly passed away last year, 2008, from some bowel obstruction that the vet was unable to treat. But I have been left richer for having him in my life and the memories will last forever.

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