Spring's arrival calls for care while gardening, as hedgehogs may be nesting
Care should be taken while gardening this year, particularly when sorting through old compost and leaf piles, as hedgehogs may have taken refuge in them, according to one expert.
Anneli Sinirand, who heads up the Siilipusa hedgehog rescue center, said hedgehogs are nocturnal, meaning during the day they seek shelter, sometimes in leaf piles or even by crawling into leaf bags. This can be even more the case when a cold snap follows warmer conditions, as has happened in recent days.
Speaking to "Terevisioon," she said: "Hedgehogs had already woken up when the weather was warm, and they go back to sleep when it turns cold again, but waking up is especially difficult for small and low-weight hedgehogs who need more nutrients."
If a hedgehog has woken up and moved away from its winter nesting area or if that nest has become damp, the animal then looks for a new site.
Among popular choices for these are: "Garden waste collected into bags — hedgehogs love to crawl into those, they scratch a hole in it because it's nice and warm inside," Sinirand continued.
"Also, any leaf piles or the edges of compost bins which have garden waste — hedgehogs crawl underneath those too," she added.
In spring, the animals are particularly lightweight, having not eaten all winter, which can make it even easier to overlook one which may be nestling in the organic debris – in the worst-case scenario, even ending up on the bonfire.
"Hedgehogs can also fall out from between the leaves when lifting a pile into a bag," Sinirand added.
The best remedy is to gently pull apart a leaf pile with a rake before bagging it, to ensure there is no hedgehog inside since these are all favorite daytime places of refuge.
Lack of evidence of hedgehog activity is not evidence of a lack of hedgehogs either, bearing in mind they tend not to rouse themselves until about 11 in the evening even after hibernation time is over.
"Other small animals may also be hiding in leaf piles — frogs, reptiles," Sinirand added, giving even more reason to take care, while this can remain the case even into summer, when hedgehogs start raising their young.
Siilipusa has its own social media pages here and here.
The European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) is found in Estonia, as is the northern white-breasted hedgehog (Erinaceus roumanicus), the two species are difficult for non-experts to tell apart.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Annika Remmel
Source: “Terevisioon,” interviewer Katrin Viirpalu
