The Veterinary Record, December 5, 1998
The results of this study demonstrated that in ponies in which
anaesthesia was induced with xylazine, ketamine and diazepam,
both the co and the intramuscular blood flow were better main-
tained during anaesthesia with isoflurane than with halothane.
However, the differences were small, and only became significant
with the change from isoflurane to halothane anaesthesia. The
change from halothane to isoflurane anaesthesia did not signifi-
cantly improve cardiovascular function, but did prevent further
deterioration. The study also showed that under conditions in
which the intracompartmental pressure within the muscles might
be presumed to have been low, the changes in intramuscular blood
flow were unrelated to changes in MAP, but followed the changes
in cardiac output.
Acknowledgements. - This project was supported by the Horserace
Betting Levy Board. The authors would like to thank Vickers
Medical UK for the loan of the Datex Capnomac Ultima, Kontron
UK for the loan of the halothane monitor and Moor Instruments UK
for the loan of the laser Doppler flowmeter. Y-H. L. was in receipt
of a Scholarship from the Korean Ministry of Education and UK
Overseas Research Studentship Scheme. H. I. K. A. was in receipt
of a Fellowship from the Danish International Aid Agency. Expert
technical assistance was provided by Gillian Hughes.
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HARVEY, R. C., GLEED, R. D., MATTHEW, N. S., TYNER, C. L., ERB, H. N. &
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JOHNSTON, G. M., TAYLOR, P. M., HOLMES, M. A. & WOOD, J. L. N. (1995)
Equine Veterinary Journal 27, 193
Hedgehog rehabilitation in perspective
P. A. Morris
Veterinary Record (1998) 143, 633-636
Thousands of hedgehogs are taken into care each year, mostly
injured animals or late-born young unlikely to survive hiber-
nation. Many are returned to the wild, but until recently there
was little information about their welfare, behaviour or sur-
vival after release. A review of three studies undertaken in dif-
ferent regions of Britain, showed that the majority of 33
released adults and juveniles adapted quickly to life in the
wild despite the juveniles having been raised in captivity. They
found food readily, made nests and rapidly learned their way
about. They all lost weight initially but, after two to three
weeks, stabilised at a similar weight to wild animals. The
hedgehogs which were heaviest at release lost the greatest per-
centage of their bodyweight, suggesting they had become over-
weight in captivity. The hedgehogs which were known not to
have survived at least six weeks after release included three
road casualties and three eaten by badgers. Although wild
hedgehogs may die in the same ways, it is possible that the
P. A. Morris, BSc, PhD, School of Biological Sciences, Royal Holloway,
University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 OEX
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released hedgehogs' susceptibility to such dangers may be
increased by their becoming tame during captivity. However,
the high survival rate suggests that the release of rehabilitated
hedgehogs back into the wild is worthwhile.
Increasing numbers of British hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) are
taken into care each year. One wildlife hospital claims to handle
3000 annually, and a single private carer took in 171 during 1996
alone (M. Rhigini, personal communication). The RSPCA treats over
1000 hedgehogs each year and these represent an increasing propor-
tion of all wildlife casualties treated by the RSPCA (T. Thomas, per-
sonal communication), rising from 15 per cent in 1993 to 20 per
cent in 1996. These animals consist of sick and injured individuals,
together with many late-born young which are too small to survive
hibernation (Morris 1984). Some of these hedgehogs die in captivi-
ty, but survival rates are generally good and have improved steadily
with the increasing experience of wildlife carers.
Rehabilitated hedgehogs are released into the wild, but until
recently there has been little information about their survival rates
or how they cope with being moved to unfamiliar sites.
Information is also lacking about how animals raised or treated in
captivity adapt to hunting for food, building and maintaining nests
or establishing their own home range. Do they attempt to 'home'
634

to
co
0

mC
CD
3:
a)
cm
X 20
0
0

0.
E 10
E
x
co
40

._L 30

0
500
-1r- X TtE "g
600
*~***
_.*1

700
/U

800 900 1000

Weight at release (g)
U

y=-16868+0045x r-2=Ca)-525

1100

FIG 1: Relationship between maximum percentage weight loss and

12C10

bodyweight at release, of 24 hedgehogs which survived for more than

19 days, and whose weights were monitored regularly for up to seven
weeks. The data are derived from the hedgehogs released in Devon
and Jersey and two of those released in Suffolk
1300
The Veterinary Record, December 5, 1998

week. Data from 24 hedgehogs (two released in Suffolk, the rest in

Devon or Jersey) which survived more than 19 days after release
and whose weights were monitored regularly for up to seven
weeks were combined. When they were released the bodyweights
of these individuals ranged from 560 to 1220 g (coefficient of vari-
ation [cv] 18.2 per cent). Subsequently, all the animals lost weight
and the range of minimum weights recorded was 500 to 840 g
(cv=12.3 per cent) as they approached a 'standard' mass. The
maximum weight loss recorded was 38 per cent and the majority
lost at least 20 per cent in the weeks after their release. The ani-
mals which lost most weight were those which were heaviest at
release. Several were more than 50 per cent heavier than would be
expected for wild hedgehogs of similar age, owing to generous
feeding in captivity and lack of exercise. The relationship between
maximum weight loss and weight at release was statistically signif-
icant (linear regression, P<0.001, Fig 1).

Nesting and orientation

to their original area of capture (or place of hospitalisation)? Are
they integrated into the wild hedgehog population?
Sainsbury and others (1996) reported the veterinary findings
from a sample of rehabilitated hedgehogs after their release. The
popular press used these findings as the basis for articles high-
lighting the drawbacks of releasing rehabilitated hedgehogs, sug-
gesting that rehabilitation may be counterproductive and perhaps
even cruel (Daily Telegraph, December 2, 1995).
The aim of this paper is to collate the results from three follow-
up studies of rehabilitated hedgehogs and show how the informa-
tion might easily be misinterpreted unless the wider picture is
properly understood.
Field studies and methods
Thirty-three hedgehogs were studied. They had been rescued from
circumstances that would have resulted in early death, cared for in
captivity for many weeks, and were destined for release irrespective
of the follow-up study for which they were later selected. They were
fitted with a small radio transmitter (Biotrack) and tracked by means
of a direction-finding receiver. Their survival and movements were
monitored for a period of up to eight weeks, after which battery life
was exhausted and the transmitters had to be removed.
Some of the animals were adults with experience of living free
in the wild, but 25 (76 per cent) were juveniles, selected particu-
larly because they had little or no experience of independent life.
These juveniles had been taken into care for various reasons, but
were probably too young to have ever built their own nest. Most
had never lived alone, many had never found or eaten natural prey
and had not travelled beyond the confines of a cage. It was pre-
sumed that if they could survive release, so would adults.
Eight hedgehogs were released in Suffolk (Morris and others
1993a), 12 in Devon (Morris and Warwick 1994; the sample
described by Sainsbury and others 1996) and 13 in Jersey (Morris
1997). After release, each animal was weighed nightly if possible,
its daytime nest was located and its interactions with wild hedge-
hogs were recorded. In Devon, some of the hedgehogs were kept
in pre-release cages on site for up to 10 days before they were
released and food was made available in the cages afterwards, an
attempt at 'soft release'.
Results
Bodyweight
Most of the hedgehogs lost weight progressively for at least two
weeks after their release, but most had stabilised by about the third
All three studies showed that the released hedgehogs quickly
adjusted to their new surroundings and did not attempt to 'home'
to a distant location by heading off in a consistent direction.
Typically, the hedgehogs travelled several hundred metres in a
night, comparable with distances travelled by wild hedgehogs
(Morris 1988) despite their previous confinement. They built nests
successfully and repeatedly found their way back to them again
after a night's foraging. Most re-used a previous nest (sometimes
over 200 m away) after an absence of more than two days, indi-
cating an ability to orientate in a new habitat.
In all three studies, after a week or more of consistent
behaviour, some hedgehogs undertook sudden, long distance
movements away from the release area. In Suffolk, half the ani-
mals travelled at least 2 km from the release area and never
returned. Two swam across the River Stour. In Devon, one trav-
elled 2 km then established a new regular pattern of movements,
two others dispersed 0-5 km before settling down. In the Jersey
study, of the eight animals located six weeks after release, two
were still within 20 m of the release garden, one was more than
250 m away and a ninth hedgehog was later found alive 5-2 km
from the release point.
Survival and predation
The combined results showed that 30 of the 33 released hedge-
hogs were still alive after three weeks (Table 1). At least 23 ani-
mals were alive four to five weeks after release and 17 were
known to be still alive after seven weeks; it is likely that more
were still alive because the 'lost' animals were not necessarily
dead. Two could not be located by radio tracking because they
had shed their transmitters, and at least three of these 'lost' ani-
mals had travelled long distances.
Known causes of death included two hedgehogs which had not
fully recovered from their original disease (nematode infection in
one case) and subsequent treatment. One hedgehog in Suffolk
drowned and there were three deaths due to road traffic (two in
Devon and one in Suffolk). Three were killed by badgers (Meles
meles), all in Devon, but there are no badgers on Jersey and none
was killed by traffic on Jersey, although it was busier than at the
Devon or Suffolk sites.
Pre-release cages and acclimatisation
None of the hedgehogs released in the Devon study returned to
eat the food left for them in the pre-release cages.
Social behaviour
No aggressive interactions were observed between the released
animals and resident wild hedgehogs. On the contrary, in all three
The Veterinary Record, December 5,1998 635

TABLE 1: Summary of survival of the 33 hedgehogs released in the ficient of variation of the bodyweight of three wild hedgehogs
three studies reviewed. All the animals released in Devon and Jersey
were overwintered juveniles with little or no previous experience of liv- weighed there each night for at least a week, was 6.6 per cent,
ing in the wild slightly more than for six released captives (4.5 per cent). Wide
daily fluctuations are natural and it is unwise to read much into
Alive after individual weight measurements, it is the trend over time which is
Hedgehog 4-5 weeks 6-7 weeks Cause of death significant. Being overweight at release is not necessarily bad for
Suffolk-210 Probably Unknown the animals. Extra fat reserves might help support released hedge-
Suffolk-215 Unknown Unknown hogs while they adjust to finding natural food or if they have to
Suffolk-229
cope with unexpectedly cold or dry conditions when such food is
Incomplete recovery scarce. They will also benefit from substantial fat reserves in
from treatment for
respiratory infection advance of hibernation.
Suffolk-249 Yes Yes During the Devon study, the nights became very wet and cold,
with temperatures around 0°C, posing an additional challenge to
Suffolk-274 Yes Yes Killed by car survival, because invertebrates are less active in the cold. Heavy
Suffolk-298 Yes Yes Probably drowned rain also threatens the ability of homoeotherms to maintain body
Suffolk-315 Probably Unknown temperature, especially if dry nesting sites cannot be located. It
Suffolk-350 Probably Unknown was for this reason that the animals had not been released even
Devon-211 Yes No Killed by badger earlier in the year. Some had sustained small bite wounds in cap-
Devon-221
tivity (Sainsbury and others 1996), but in every case these healed
Yes Yes quickly after release and several of the affected animals survived
Devon-228 Yes Yes until the end of the study. There is no evidence that these minor
Devon-244 Probably Unknown wounds represented a significant hazard, although it would have
Devon-256 Incomplete recovery been better had the animals not received them. For this reason, it
from treatment seems wise to cage the animals individually, particularly males in
euthanased after 17 the breeding season, before they are released.
days A regular change of nest site is normal in wild hedgehogs, espe-
Devon-270 Yes Yes cially among males (Reeve and Morris 1985). The released hedge-
Devon-288 Yes No Killed by badger hogs repeatedly found their way back to the nests they had built and
Devon-298 Yes No Killed by badger most re-used a previous nest at least once, indicating an ability to
Devon-312 Yes Yes orientate in a new habitat. Similar results were obtained in a study of
three hedgehogs released in Yorkshire (Morris and others 1993b).
Devon-324 Yes No Killed on road after 4
weeks Although none of the release studies showed a consistent pat-
Devon-332
tern suggestive of 'homing', several of the hedgehogs disappeared
No - - Killed on road after 5 from the study areas, having travelled considerable distances. In
days
Devon-353 Yes
Jersey, at least one moved over 5 km, and four of the Suffolk ani-
Unknown Unknown Radio lost after 3 mals were last seen over 2 km from the release point. Although
weeks
these animals were 'lost' from the study, their dispersal suggests
Jersey-21 0 Yes
that they had sufficient stamina to travel significant distances and
Jersey-220 Yes were thus probably healthy.
Jersey-227 Unknown In Cheshire, 22 rehabilitated hedgehogs were released into a
Jersey-242 Yes wood and radio tracked, but all of them departed to nearby vil-.
Jersey-255 Yes
lages within two weeks (Key 1997). A similar result was obtained
Jersey-282
when hedgehogs were released into a woodland in Surrey (N. J.
Yes
Reeve, personal communication). Dispersal may be a response to
Jersey-287 Yes being moved to an unfamiliar type of habitat, suggesting that
Jersey-298 Unknown hedgehogs should be released in the habitat to which they were
Jersey-31 1 Yes accustomed (Morris and others 1993a). However, in Jersey there
Jersey-324 Unknown
was no statistically significant difference between the behaviour
Jersey-331
of animals released close to where they had first been captured
Yes
and of those unfamiliar with the release site (Morris 1997). All the
Jersey-339 Yes animals in that study were juveniles, and were perhaps not old
Jersey-351 Yes enough to have become fixed in their behaviour towards their
home site before being taken into captivity.
Thirty of the 33 hedgehogs released were still alive after three
studies, there was frequent courtship behaviour between wild and weeks, long enough for them to have starved if they had been
released hedgehogs, often protracted, at the expense of foraging unable to obtain natural food. A high survival rate is particularly
behaviour. In one case (in Devon) it is believed that a successful significant because 25 of them were juveniles with little or no pre-
pregnancy resulted (Sainsbury and others 1996). vious experience of life in the wild. If they could be fully reinstat-
ed, then adults should also be capable of survival.
Although several hedgehogs died in the two months after they
Discussion were released, this is to be expected in a species whose average
life expectancy is about two years. Moreover, but for the care the
A consistent feature of these studies was weight loss, and the animals received in captivity, they would all have died much ear-
large percentage of bodyweight lost by some of the animals may lier. Over half not only survived, but some may also have bred.
suggest that they-were unable to find sufficient food and were Premature deaths were due largely to accidents (drowning, or
starving. However, the significant (P<0-001) relationship between being killed by traffic or badgers) unrelated to their health. After
bodyweight at release and maximum weight loss, indicates that an experimental release of 30 wild hedgehogs with no history of
these animals were shedding excess weight put on in captivity. ill health or veterinary care in to Wytham Wood in Oxfordshire,
For this species, weight loss should be interpreted carefully. 11 were killed by badgers or traffic within 10 weeks (Doncaster
Substantial changes are quite normal in hibernators like the 1992). Rehabilitated animals will inevitably be exposed to such
hedgehog (Kristoffersson and Suomalainen 1964) and even from dangers.
day to day, the weights of wild hedgehogs, studied simultaneously It has been argued that hedgehogs should not be released into
with the released animals in Suffolk, varied noticeably. The coef- areas frequented by badgers because of the likelihood of preda-
636
tion. However, the most recent published distribution map
(Arnold 1993) shows that badgers are present throughout Wales
and most of southern England. They occur in all but two of the 10
km grid squares between Land's End and central Wiltshire.
Avoiding them, at least in the south west, is not a realistic option.
Where badgers are scarce, it is often because the habitat is unsuit-
able, and it is frequently inadequate for hedgehogs too.
Similarly, avoiding traffic is unrealistic. Hedgehogs can travel
up to 3 km in a night (Morris 1988), and few suitable areas in the
lowlands are more than 3 km from a road. The road deaths in
these studies occurred on tiny lanes, used by very few vehicles per
night. In all cases, wild hedgehogs were already present at the
release sites, irrespective of badgers or road traffic.
Drowning is a common cause of death in hedgehogs, not
because they cannot swim, but usually because they fall into water
and cannot climb steep smooth surfaces to escape. Such mishaps
are likely to occur irrespective of the animal's health or previous
life in captivity. Nevertheless, despite all these difficulties, sur-
vival among rehabilitated hedgehogs was very high, compared,
for example, with the minimal success of oiled seabirds after they
have been cleaned and released (Schmidt 1997).
A probable risk factor is that the released hedgehogs were
accustomed to being handled. Many had been captive almost since
birth and were quite tame. They were insufficiently wary of
'attack' and several barely bothered to roll up when caught for
weighing each night. Tameness may increase the danger posed by
badgers and road traffic. It would therefore seem wise to discour-
age tameness in animals intended for release.
The assertion that rehabilitated animals should be released in
urban areas because they will be safer there remains unsubstanti-
ated. It may be true in respect of predation by badgers (although
badgers are common in some suburban areas), but avoiding one
hazard may simply increase exposure to another. In the studies
reviewed here, as many hedgehogs were lost to motor traffic as to
predators, despite the relative quietness of the country lanes in the
three study areas. The lanes were also narrow, slowing the few
vehicles present after dark. In urban areas, traffic will be heavier,
and persist late into the night, almost certainly increasing the risk
of accidental death.
Studies of dormice (Muscardinus avellanarius) highlight the
benefit of 'soft release' methods involving use of pre-release
cages in which the animals can become accustomed to their new
environment before release (Bright and Morris 1994). Some reha-
bilitators also take considerable trouble to accustom hedgehogs to
the release site before they are freed, and provide supplementary
food afterwards. There was no evidence that the provision of food
or acclimatisation to the release site through the use of pre-release
cages had any beneficial effect. A similar result was obtained in
Yorkshire (Morris and others 1993b) where none of the three
released hedgehogs returned to feed at a bowl of dog food put out
for them for several nights, despite their continuing weight losses.
Nevertheless, soft release techniques which reduce the abruptness
of the transition from captivity to the wild are unlikely to be harm-
ful.
One of the Devon hedgehogs had defective teeth, which led to
assertions that it should not have been released without 'effective
veterinary treatment'. However, dental anomalies (including miss-
ing teeth) were found in 39 of 77 wild E europaeus (Brockie
1964) and the hedgehog released in Devon showed no evidence of
progressive weight loss that might have been expected if it had
been hampered by dental deficiencies. It lost a maximum of 21
per cent of its weight at release, then regained much of it, and
maintained its weight stable for three weeks at 81 to 90 per cent of
the initial weight, until it was killed by a badger.
The popularity of hedeghogs ensures that relevant press stories
are widely read, and misleading reports and comments may have
significant negative effects. Articles in the press following the
publication of the paper by Sainsbury and others (1996) caused
confusion among animal carers and dismay concerning the validi-
ty of hedgehog rehabilitation. Animal carers became concerned
that dog food may be a dangerously inappropriate diet for hedge-
hogs because press reporting emphasised a comment by Sainsbury
and others (1996) that eating soft dog food may lead to an accu-
The Veterinary Record, December 5, 1998
mulation of tartar on the teeth. Claims that hedgehogs had con-
tracted lungworm while in care as a result of being fed on a diet of
dog food instead of earthworms were particularly misleading. In
fact, earthworms are a natural source of lungworm, Capillaria eri-
nacei, common in wild hedgehogs (Romashov 1980).
These studies have clearly demonstrated that released hedge-
hogs, even inexperienced juveniles, coped well with life in the
wild, found food, nested normally and integrated well with resi-
dent wild hedgehogs, often in spite of bad weather and other
adverse factors. The rehabilitation of hedgehogs is therefore a jus-
tifiable use of resources to the extent that full integration into the
wild is an achievable aim. There is no evidence that welfare is sig-
nificantly at risk, except from accidents to which all hedgehogs
are exposed. However, captive hedgehogs should not be encour-
aged to become tame and unwary of potential dangers. Substantial
weight loss is to be expected after they are released, but this
appears to be a natural readjustment to weight gain in captivity.
Acknowledgements. - The author thanks Hugh Warwick and
Louisa Gammidge for field assistance in Devon, despite inclement
weather. Susan Sharafi and Kathy Meakin assisted in Suffolk; Dru
Burdon, Kim Matthews, Susan Sharafi and Ruth Temple in
Jersey. Mary Morris provided valuable assistance with data analy-
sis, and Tony Sainsbury kindly read a draft of this paper. The con-
tinued support of the British Hedgehog Preservation Society is
gratefully acknowledged, as is help provided by 'Pro-Igel' of
Switzerland. The author is especially grateful to the RSPCA for
support, and to Pete and Jean Swanston for allowing access to
their farm.
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Abstract
Autonomic influences on cardiac
rhythms in dogs
THE autonomic nervous system has a fundamental influence on the
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