Hedgehog hibernation carries significant welfare risks from premature arousal, underweight entry, and garden hazards, and understanding these helps people support hedgehog survival.
Hedgehogs entering hibernation underweight face almost certain death from starvation before emerging in spring. The welfare harm of slow starvation during a prolonged winter hibernation is significant and preventable. Autumn juveniles that weigh less than 450 grams in October are at high risk and benefit from overwintering care. Members of the public who find small hedgehogs active in daylight in autumn are often encountering at-risk individuals that require assessment. Supplementary feeding programmes and coordinated hedgehog rescues prevent a large volume of this otherwise predictable winter mortality.