Do you often see hedgehogs running through the garden?
The temperatures at the start of the year were exceptionally mild.
To the chagrin of many animals.
In mild winters, it often happens that hedgehogs run around the gardens in a lively mood instead of being in hibernation.
Many worry about these hedgehogs, as the Nature Conservation Union (Nabu) describes.
“But it is normal for hedgehogs to wake up when the temperature is high and there is no problem with healthy animals,” explains the Nabu on its website.
But, it goes on to say: If this happens more often over the course of the winter, it can sap the hedgehog's strength;
because the food supply is then relatively poor.
Hedgehogs in the garden: How to help them if they often wake up too early from hibernation
"The best way to help the hedgehogs is with a feeding bowl filled with high-quality wet or dry food for cats with a high meat content;
an additional water bowl is also gladly accepted,” advises the Nabu in such cases.
As in the rest of the year, the following applies: "Please do not feed canned food or leftovers." You can also find out here which food hedgehogs should never eat.
In addition, winter hedgehogs that have woken up only need direct help if they are sick or significantly weakened, according to Nabu.
"As soon as the temperatures drop, the hedgehogs will return to their winter quarters." The ideal winter quarters for hedgehogs consist of a pile of dead wood, twigs and leaves.
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Are the temperatures exceptionally mild at the beginning of the year?
If hedgehogs wake up earlier than usual as a result, they also need energy earlier.
©Panthermedia/Imago
If a hedgehog wakes up from hibernation earlier than usual, it needs energy earlier.
For this he consumes the so-called brown fat, explained Derk Ehlert, wildlife expert of the Berlin environmental senate administration, according to a report by the German Press Agency (dpa) in mid-January.
This can be quickly converted into energy.
"When it gets colder again, the animals then lack the energy for the actual start of spring." Normally, hedgehogs finally wake up from hibernation between the end of March and mid-April.
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Hedgehogs in the garden: Mild weather disturbs their hibernation
If a hedgehog wakes up frequently or even wakes up completely, there is a risk that it will use up its fat reserve prematurely and not survive the winter, as
Oekotest.de
had already reported at the start of the year in view of the comparatively mild temperatures.
"That's why it's important that you offer food to hedgehogs that are roaming around when it's warm in winter." If the average temperature falls below four degrees and the hedgehog continues to appear at the food bowl, you should stop feeding, however, so that the hedgehog can go back to hibernation , advises the Hedgehog Center Zurich (IZZ) according to the report.
List of rubrics: © Panthermedia/Imago