Hedgehog number 604 is happy. For once there are mealworms. He likes that best. He smacks aloud to himself, plastering one after the other. Mostly, he and his 110 conspecifics in the Munich animal shelter namely only pre-set cat food - mealworms for all and every day would be too expensive.
Each year up to 180 hedgehogs spend the winter at Riemer Straße 270. Number 604 also got a seat - he took medication and now it's too cold to handle him. It is wintering in cardboard boxes, because they are better isolated than the plastic houses in which the hedgehogs usually live in the shelter.
In contrast to number 604, the last species in the wild moved into their winter quarters these days. In recent weeks, they have eaten a lot to get to a body weight of at least five hundred grams and to survive the next months without food.
Hibernation is not just a survival strategy for hedgehogs to get through the cold and fodder months. In Germany, for example, bats, dormice, and marmots do so. During hibernation, body temperature drops sharply. In addition, the heartbeat and respiratory rate are reduced, and the metabolism is greatly slowed down.
BiologyThe secret life of hedgehogs
But the biggest challenge comes at the rescue stations when the hedgehogs wake up again. Then they have to be reintroduced individually, a process that often takes several weeks. The shelters are dependent on the help of volunteers who pick up the hedgehogs in their garden, where they can slowly get used to freedom again.
Despite the effort, the shelter in Munich has no difficulty finding helpers. "Hedgehogs have a very large lobby," says Lydia Schübel, the wildlife expert at the Munich Animal Shelter. "That's why we're always thinking of whether to start a call on Facebook or the newspaper, and then the phone often rings for three days, uninterruptedly."
What to do if you find a hedgehog?
Hedgehogs retire to hibernation in nature in a shelter, for example, in a hedge, a heap of leaves or in a garden shed. If you work outside in the garden in autumn and winter, you should be extra careful.
Usually, the animals sleep through the winter and rarely wake up. They only wake up in the spring when it gets warmer than ten degrees. So if you meet a hedgehog at the moment, you should help him. That is to wrap around with a towel and warm it, for example with a hot water bottle. Hedgehogs eat normal cat food with a lot of meat. Food scraps of people should not get them, because they can not tolerate the spices, as well as milk.
A hedgehog is best kept in a rescue center. If you find one, you should call as soon as possible the animal welfare or the next shelter. There, the hedgehog can be recorded and also overwinter.
Also number 604 will be released next spring and probably find a home in a Munich garden. Maybe even near the place where he was found. He already knows his way around.