The Ecology of the Hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus L.) in Wellington, New Zealand

Abstract

In skull measurements and in body size New Zealand animals were found to be smaller than European ones. The teeth were very irregular. The influence of sex, age and season on weight was studied. The bulk of the food snails, slugs, millipedes and the larvae of lepidoptera and coleoptera. On the basis of live marking and recapture studies it was found that New Zealand hedgehogs generally restrict their movements to an area of 400 to 800 yards square. Males appear to wander further than females, especially in the breeding season. Although individual hedgehogs do not appear to have a territory they do have a home range within which they remain for long periods - at least sixteen months. The hibernation period in the Wellington district lasts from mid-June to mid-September. Laboratory experiments showed that the animals are capable of aestivating at temperatures of from 20°C to 25°C and there is some evidence to suggest that wild animals do the same, Seasonal variations in the number of animals killed by road traffic were studied and it was found that at times the mortality reached 72 per hundred miles of road. At least two litters are born each season, which lasts from September to May. It appears as if the most successful part of the breeding season occurs in summer and autumn rather than in the spring. Crenosoma striatum, Aonchotheca (Capillaria) exigua and Caparinia tripilis are common parasites of New Zealand animals but Archaeopsylla erinacei was not found. A method for age-estimation, based on the extent of tooth wear, has been developed and it appears that few wild animals in the samples examined live beyond eighteen months. It is suggested that respiratory disease is a powerful mortality factor during the winter. Observations on behaviour were also made.