Mother’s Day was a special day for two hedgehogs who had been under rehab and were released into the wild with their babies. The hedgehogs, who were brought in because of injuries, were released on Sunday after having spent some time in rehabilitation with Nature Trust (Malta)’s Wildlife Rescue Team.
The first female was rescued after being found with a large lesion on its face probably caused by a larger animal or garden equipment. While in rehabilitation Choppy, as it was named, gave birth to four hoglets, one of which sadly died. The other three hoglets named Strawberry, Raspberry and Blueberry, were raised by the Mother.
It was a wonderful surprise for the volunteers to have these babies around. The hoglets suckled on the Mother and at five weeks they were introduced to solid food.
The other Mother named Mo was taken into rehabilitation with her already born hoglets. The hedgehog family was found by construction workers who were digging the ground when they accidentally came across them. One of the young was injured and died suddenly, however the Mother who was also injured and three hoglets survived the ordeal and recovered well in rehabilitation.
“It was a pleasure to rehab these mothers and their young, one could learn a lot about Motherhood from this experience. The mothers were totally dedicated to raising their young”, said a NTM volunteer.
The volunteers keep interaction as minimal as possible so as not to change the behaviour of the hedgehogs under rehabilitation. Hedgehogs are nocturnal animals who spend their nights foraging, covering a large area. Hoglets on the other hand sleep all night and feed throughout the day so as to work in synchronisation with the mother’s feeding behaviour.
This behaviour is also carried out when under rehabilitation and one can see that although the young are left alone, they can be quite safe as long as the mother makes a safe nest unreachable from predators.
Hedgehogs can be found all around Malta and Gozo. Due to urbanisation, heavy traffic and degradation of our natural environment, hedgehogs are endangered. The NGO urges the public to drive carefully especially on country roads and lanes, where many of these animals are run down by vehicles.
The NGO said that it is also working to launch the HSBC Adopt a Hedgehog campaign which will help raise funds for medication and food while raising awareness about hedgehogs. The campaign will also be introducing the ‘Attention Hedgehogs’ signs which will be erected on roads which frequently have hedgehog accidents.
Nature Trust (Malta)’s Wildlife Rescue Team is a team of volunteers who rescue local injured wildlife. Anyone who finds an injured wild animal can call on 99422086/99999505. The NGO can also be contacted on info@naturetrustmalta.org [1] or by visiting the Facebook page.
Those wishing to give a donation which will go towards the upkeep of the rehab animals and the new rehab centre can do so on HSBC account no 039 069000 009 or by post to P.O. Box 9, Valletta, VLT1000.
The NGO thanks the public for its kind support.
Photographs: Chris Goode/Nature Trust Malta