Hedgehogs Shown to Dislike Road Surfaces
by Barbara Kieker
Posted on September 18, 2002
University of Southampton researchers recently conducted a study that showed hedgehogs are averse to road surfaces.
The researchers used radio-tracking devices to monitor eight hedgehogs in an urban area. The animals avoided all but the smallest of roads.
"They're not responding to the traffic, but to the road surface itself," said Patrick Doncaster, who participated in conducting the study. "I don't think they're fearful of cars as such."
Doncaster and his colleagues, who reported their findings in New Scientist, also found that males are more likely than females to cross roads.
"Since hedgehogs are non-monogamous and non-territorial, a male's reproductive success is largely determined by the ground he covers and the number of females he finds," Marcel P. Huijser wrote in an article published in the Wild Rockies Slate.
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