A study of rehabilitated juvenile hedgehogs after release into the wild

Published source details Morris P.A. & Warwick H. (1994) A study of rehabilitated juvenile hedgehogs after release into the wild. Animal Welfare, 3, 163-177.
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This study is summarised as evidence for the following.

	Action	Category
	Rehabilitate injured, sick or weak mammals Action Link

Rehabilitate injured, sick or weak mammals

A study in 1993 in pasture on a farm in Devon, UK (Morris & Warwick 1994) found that 40% of rehabilitated juvenile European hedgehogs Erinaceus europaeus survived for at least nine weeks after release back into the wild. Of 10 hedgehogs monitored, four were still alive at the end of the nine-week monitoring period, three had been predated by European badgers Meles meles, two had been killed on roads and one sick animal had been euthanized. Two further animals survived for at least three and four weeks before losing their radio transmitters. Twelve hedgehogs (6 male, 6 female) were released on or shortly after 2 April 1993. They were wild-born, but had been taken into captivity at a wildlife hospital as underweight juveniles the previous year. Hedgehogs weighed 82–312 g when taken into captivity and 560–1,106 g at time of release. Survival and movements were monitored by radio-tracking.

(Summarised by: Nick Littlewood)