Hedgehog Sandwich

[Ben@Forest]

Drove into work this morning, as I rounded a corner on a very busy road I saw I hedgehog crawling across the road, no chance of stopping before I got to it but carefully steered the car over it and then stopped, went back and carefully (ouch) picked it up and returned it to the verge/hedge. I have no doubt it would have been dead in the next 3 minutes if I had not done so but will it just have tried to cross the road again? I'm already wondering if I'm going to see a corpse when I drive back.

(The title is a nod to those old enough to remember NTNOCN).

[iandriver]

If you've seen it in broad daylight, the poor little thing is probably in so much trouble health wise that it's hard to bring them back. My wife has worked in hedgehog rescue, and they tend to be so poorly by the time people find them that the success rate is sadly low. Always worth giving one some water if you can this time of year if you can.

[old_windbag]

I drove over the top of one at 2am once as the best way to avoid it as it "ran" across the main a-road. No cars around except myself and I turned around went back to see empty carriageway, no flattened hedgehog, so a succesful avoidance. They can move pretty quick.

On the bike a week ago I encountered one in broad daylight on a sustrans path. As other post says that spells problems, I picked it up and put it deep vegetation where it moved off at pace. Hopefully it'd have a chance but I was not in a position to take it to a local sanctuary where I overwintered a small autumn juvenile a year back.

"We like truckin", showing our ages.

[Vorpal]

I doubt that it went out into the road again. As iandriver says, if you've seen it in daytime, there's already something wrong. If you want to pick one up, the easiest thing to do is drop a towel over it. It will curl up, and the towel will protect you when you pick it up.

I used to take hedgehogs to a local rescue centre when I found them.

[Heltor Chasca]

I casually studied hedgepigs for a short period which was fascinating. To put a positive slant on flat animals: the simple fact we are seeing more hedgehog roadkill, points towards the population in the uk doing better.

[old_windbag]

To put a positive slant on flat cyclists: the simple fact we are seeing more cyclist roadkill, points towards cycling in the uk doing better.

Tongue in cheek before the PC brigade get wound up........ though a few flat humans is preferable to hedgehogs( run for the hills ).

[Ben@Forest]

I casually studied hedgepigs for a short period which was fascinating. To put a positive slant on flat animals: the simple fact we are seeing more hedgehog roadkill, points towards the population in the uk doing better.

I recently saw a flat pigeon, though not amusing it was almost comically squashed flat, the way Tom or Jerry are before reviving to bash each other up again. It was ringed three times which made me wonder if it was a racing pigeon - I presume bird ringers do not spend much time on either wood or feral pigeons.

Because of the 'shape', condition and where it was it must have been run over when in the road, which made me wonder if racing pigeons do stop to feed when 'racing' home?

[old_windbag]

Because of the 'shape', condition and where it was it must have been run over when in the road, which made me wonder if racing pigeons do stop to feed when 'racing' home?

They get off track in races due to various reasons, one a fancier told me was if they meet another pigeon race then they can sometimes follow the other flock and go off course. Racing instinct. If you see one again dead or alive try to image its ring number and the colour, also quite often the phone number of the owner will be marked on several primary wing feathers. I used that to tell an owner 125mls away that his pigeon had been killed by a sparrowhawk. They get tired and lost and need to have their energy restored before they find their bearings home, I fed one for three weeks in my garden before it disappeared and it's owner contacted me to tell me it had arrived back at the loft. I used the ring number via homing union to keep in touch with the owner and update on it's progress. On the negative side I've also been told that fanciers kill birds that don't perform well, so a bird could be going to it's execution, one hopes they have more compassion.

[661-Pete]

Someone's got to say it!

Q: Why did the hedgehog cross the road?
A: To see its flatmate.

HC and OW - got room for me in your hideout?

[661-Pete]

On a more serious note - I recall picking up hedgehogs from the road at night, and depositing them in nearby bushes. If you handle one gently its prickles will not pierce the skin, and with luck it may unroll so that you can handle it by its underside. They are not especially shy of humans (which is a disadvantage to them, when you think about it).

On the downside, when I recounted this tale to someone, they warned me that hedgehogs are 'chock-a-block loaded with fleas'. But I believe it's not the same species of flea as that which bites humans (or cats and dogs).

[old_windbag]

Think the hideout would need to be a tardis with a sanctuary knocker on the door.

The fleas don't affect us as far as i know. They are initially strange to pick up (not the fleas) but you get used to them. Remember if you see small ones in late autumn they need to be around 600gms to see winter tbrough. So if you find one underweight take it to a hedgehog sanctuary and collect, or not, in the spring. They need as much help as they can get the population has crashed as with so many birds, mammals.

[Cyril Haearn]

I casually studied hedgepigs for a short period which was fascinating. To put a positive slant on flat animals: the simple fact we are seeing more hedgehog roadkill, points towards the population in the uk doing better.

Might not be a simple as that, do we really see more or are we just more aware of them? Maybe one day they will learn to avoid roads. I am always very suspicious when experts claim to have found the last survivors of a species, how can they possibly know that there are none elsewhere?

Wild animal populations fluctuate a lot I think

Sometimes I see hedgehogs in the gloaming, I love the distinct hedgehog silhouette

[[XAP]Bob]

They have no more fleas than other wild animals, but due to the spines they are relatively easily seen...

[Audax67]

We have one that lives in the neighbourhood and can occasionally be seen trundling round our garden in the twilight. Quite amusing interactions with the dogs, as in "Hello. Ouch. Strategic retreat, anyone?"

[old_windbag]

Out on bike earlier and whilst on a very busy A-road( rush hour ) I saw a hedgehog cowering in the middle of the carriageway. It had made it to the middle of the road but was now rather stuck. This wasn't a good situation as they are nocturnal so it clearly had perhaps health reasons for being out, but I cannot let it be killed by a vehicle. So I stopped promptly put bike on verge and went into road to make sure no one drove near the white line. Picked it straight up and took it to a copse of trees with long grass for cover. It was pretty active, hopefully it'll have a sporting chance of survival.

No car drivers slowed down, we really are a car culture, with little time for anything getting in our way.