Hedgehog Research Paper

The species specific behaviours of a European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) and a common pipistrelle bat (Pipistrellus pipistrellus)

Hedgehogs are insectivores this means that most of their diet is made up of insects, also they are a bulk feeder which means they eat the whole of the insect. Hedgehog feeding behaviours are usually small and fast movements to catch insects while foraging. However, they have also developed interesting strategies to get around some tricky defences, for example slugs have a slimy coat that makes them hard to eat so the hedgehog rolls the slug round on the floor to get rid of this layer.
Hedgehogs are nocturnal though they can occasionally be seen foraging during the day if they need to build up a fat reserve

for hibernation or the need the nutrients for lactation. There are peaks where their activity is highest, one being between 10pm and midnight and a smaller peak around 3am, these peaks are thought to be because the hedgehog needs to stop and digest so it can fill its stomach twice in one night. A fully grown adult hedgehog will usually find somewhere to hide and sleep during the day before waking up in the late evening. Hedgehogs hibernate during the winter and it is too cold for them to be out foraging they develop fat reserves during autumn to help them survive the cold without food.
Hedgehogs are usually solitary animals occasionally coming together for breeding or if there is a large food source in one are they may feed together.

After breeding the pair splits apart and the female has a gestation period of around 35 days then she will give birth to an average of 4 or 5 young which are altricial, this means they are completely reliant on their mother at birth. The babies, hoglets, are around 7cm when born and are pink, hairless, and their eyes are tightly closed. Small white temporary spines begin to push out the skin an hour after birth, these are temporary and they will lose them after their pigmented second generation spines fully come through around 1 month after birth and their permanent third generation spines start to grow through, fully developing at 6 weeks. They are weaned at 6-8 weeks old and are fully independent, therefore leave the mother and siblings to live in solitary till their first breeding at between 7 months and a year old when they are sexually

mature.

1.

The common pipistrelle bat is an insectivore and feeds mainly on small flies as well as midges and mosquitoes, it is also a bulk feeder which means it eats the whole insect in one. Bats find food and find their was though woodland using echolocation which is when they make high pitch noises that bounce of nearby objects and back to their ears.
Like all other British bats, the pipistrelle bat is nocturnal which means they come out around dusk and feed during the night before going back to their roost. During the winter they hibernate in buildings and trees and sleep though the colder months, during the summer they sleep during the day in a roost in a tree, building or specially designed bat box. Babies are born just after mating season in June or July and the babies then become independent and fly the nest in august.
Pipistrelle bats are fairly sociable and the females will nest in maternity roosts of usually 60-80 females but can as many as 200, however males live in small groups or on their own. They mate in the early summer during breeding season then the females will return to the maternity roosts to give birth to a single altricial young, the young are fed only their mother’s milk for the first three or four weeks until they learn to fly and then at 6 weeks they are independent and able to forage for themselves. Females can reach sexual maturity by the following autumn but most males will not reach maturity till the following summer.

The habitat requirements of the European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus)

The European hedgehog are found mostly in hedgerows as well as on some farmland, however they can also live in woodland particularly on the edges in parks, gardens and on sand dunes, this is thought to be because it creates a wide range of prey.

Studies show that hedgehogs prefer moss fields to pasture land this may be because there are more prey animals in the moss fields. Hedgehogs have a relatively large home range that will vary between habitat types but males will typically have a larger home range than females. Home ranges can overlap but hedgehogs will rarely fight and just mutually avoid each other.
Hedgehogs eat a wide range of invertebrates including worms, snails, slugs, and insects, but hedgehogs also eat carrion and scraps and even sometimes can eat baby mice, baby birds and eggs. The food they eat is what they forage from the undergrowth and in the fields. Hedgehogs will drink water from small bodies of water such as puddles or small streams and drink a lot for their body

size.
Hedgehogs will build small nests to sleep in during the day in the summer and larger hibernacula nests in the winter to hibernate inside. Summer nests are not very well insulated and not very strong, they are generally constructed of grass and leaves loosely put together. The winter or hibernacula nests are much thicker and made of leaves, twigs, grass, and other plant material. Hibernacula are constructed very carefully and are waterproof and well insulated. Hedgehogs may awake from hibernation to rebuild their nest if it is not good enough.
Hedgehogs do have a variety of predators including red foxes, tawny owls, magpies, polecats and mink, although the biggest predator of the hedgehog is the European badger. Domestic cats are rarely reported to be aggressive toward hedgehogs and are mostly just curious or indifferent. However domestic there are many reports on domestic dogs injuring or killing hedgehogs, most of the time the dog was only trying to play or investigate and has hurt the hedgehog because it was too over-enthusiastic. Many potential predators don’t bother with hedgehogs as the spiny defence mechanism it too much work. Despite all this most hedgehogs are not killed by natural predators but are killed because they come in contact with human machinery such as lawnmowers, cars or strimmers.
Humans are the number one threat towards hedgehogs; around 50,000 hedgehogs are estimated to be killed on the UK road network each year. The majority of hedgehogs brought into animal hospitals are injured due to manmade hazards such as vehicles or pesticides. Litter is also a major problem for hedgehogs and they can easily get stuck in a plastic rings or get wrapped in plastic bags. Although living near humans can be harmful to hedgehogs some people also put some cat food and water out for them so the hedgehog can have a little extra when it is struggling to forage.