Marie & Jim Darlow sent in this photograph of a hedgehog on there plot 4 last year they said it was about 9.30 in the morning when the hedgehog was having a morning stroll. So it got me thinking to put some hedgehog facts to there picture.
Hedgehog
While populations of this hedgehog are stable they are thought to be declining severely in the United Kingdom. The animal appears brownish with most of its body covered by 6,000 brown & white spines. Its diet includes slugs, earthworms, beetles, caterpillars, & other insects. Life expectancy is round about 3 years, starvation is the most common cause of death, usually occurring during hibernation. If alarmed, the animal will roll into a ball to protect itself, many potential predators are repelled by its spines. Some animals like owls do hunt them, an owl will grab the hedgehog by its face & peel its prickly back with its talons first making it safe to eat. Foxes are also a predatory problem. Hedgehogs are nocturnal but if they are seen in the day they are usually moving there nests
Blog & Research Mark Burton (Allotment Secretary)
Picture Marie Darlow (Plot 4)
