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Jeff Gordon and I were wandering around the seriously disturbed habitat behind the airport hotel we stayed in outside of Budapest when a bizarre mammal about the size of an opossum crossed the path in front of us. ” It turns out it was a hedgehog, a Northern White-breasted Hedgehog to be exact.
After Corey shared his story of his hedgehog experience in Hungary I thought you may like to see some rather adorable pictures of a young European Hedgehog in England. It appears that hedgehog numbers in the UK have dropped by 25% in the last 10 years , so every hedgehog that can be saved is extremely worthwhile.
But there was more than birds – there were great mammals, insects, landscapes, food, and people. If you ever get the chance to visit Hungary you should take it: you definitely won’t regret that choice. Enough chatter – on to the pictures!
As most people know cats, both feral and domestic, have a pretty big impact on wild birds and other wildlife, and the effect of mammals is particularly profound in New Zealand. Even wiping out a majority of mammals from the third biggest island is a challenge, and not just logistically.
Africa is famous for its large, charismatic mammals, and the Big Five epitomize the most sought-after of these fantastic beasts. As visitors’ and the public’s interests expanded from the Big Five, and an appreciation for lesser mammals, birds and smaller wildlife has became more widespread, the term Little Five was coined.
It was awesome – especially the hedgehog and the amazing new Swarovski spotting scopes I got to play with. Northern White-breasted Hedgehog. Oh, and there were mammals too. Finally, I learned not to feed the birds. June – Hungary. In June I went to Hungary. July – Baby Bird Week and Shorebirds.
These serve a couple of important roles – foliage provides cover for animals and a defense against predators, and flowers attract insects, which in turn attract insectivores such as hedgehogs, shrews and a variety of birds. Berry-producing plants are also used as a food source by a variety of creatures.
Memorable encounters with Mammals Part II It’s generally reckoned that there are more deer in Britain today than there were in the Middle Ages, a fact that is almost certainly true. It’s a common mammal in the countryside around my home, and I see them frequently. Rather more are killed in collisions with cars.
But hedgehogs? There were no mammals, little game, and not many birds either. What is surprising is quite how many species did end up here, and how economically unimportant they were. It should surprise no one that someone brought horses, or goats, or chickens. Greenfinches? What exactly was going on.
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