Part 2
May is hedgehog breeding season.
Male hedgehogs (boars) will travel up to 3 kilometres in search of a mate (the females are called sows). So, particularly at this time of year, it is important to make sure that hedgehogs can travel between gardens; even something as simple as leaving a garden gate open will help.
When male and female do finally meet, their courtship is loud and long; if you hear strange noises in your garden at night, it might well be amorous hedgehogs. Both sexes will mate with multiple partners, which can mean that a litter of hoglets might not all have the same father. After mating, the males and females go their separate ways and the babies will be reared by their mothers.
A hedgehog’s pregnancy lasts thirty five days, during which she will make a maternity nest. She might chose a site under a hedge or a log pile, among dried leaves, or very often under a shed or outbuilding. Her babies will stay in the nest for three or four weeks before they join her on foraging trips.
If hedgehogs visit your garden, they will need a safe, sheltered and undisturbed place if they are to rear babies there, with access to dry bedding materials. It looks as though our gardens are going to be where our hedgehogs will be at their safest while we sort out how to make our countryside more wildlife friendly. Make them welcome, please.
Southwick Country Park Nature Reserve 