Hedgehog reproduction:

Hedghogs breed between March and October.This begins with courtship,where the male pursues the female until she is ready to mate.This can only happen if the female flattens herself on the ground,so that mating can take place.

......a helping hand

......getting bigger

...almost a handful!

Hedgehogs reach sexual maturity in the year following the one in which they were born,and mating takes place between april and september,but more commonly in may. After a noisy courtship,in which the male may circle the female,sometimes for hours,mating will eventually take place.Then the male and female go their separate ways,and he will play no further part in raising the young.

...save some for me!

...three littles hogs!

...sadly,these were still-born.

The young Hoglets are born born after around 4 and a half weeks.At birth they are blind and helpless with no spines,as these will grow through the skin shortly after birth,white at first and then darker later.At around 3 or 4 weeks they are able to leave the nest with the mother Hedghog,when she will teach them how to hunt for food. Shortly after this the young leave the mother to go off and fend for themselves.This is an important time for them as they must gain enough weight to be able to survive their first winter.A hedgehog older than 2 years is doing well,as they do not often live longer than this in the wild,and only a very small percentage will live to be 5 years old.