Regular reader(s) of this blog will know all about our single male hedgehog and my efforts to try and cajole him to leave our garden (where he ain't gettin' any) to explore pastures new, (the front gardens of the road) where as long as he avoids the cars, he maaay just get to sow his wild oats with a purty lil laydee hog - and so pass on his genes.
Last night however, whilst my camera recorded him leaving the garden as usual...
...my trail camera didn't (for once) record any footage of any return to our back garden, of "our" male hog.
Now... my trail camera isn't infallible. It takes 20 seconds or so for it to "recharge" after shooting a 20 second video and be in a position to record another 20 second video - soooo... our hog could have shot back into our back garden within 20 seconds or so - plausible... especially as the next video shot after the one above, did contain some soft hedgehoggy noises that could have been made by our hog as it sprinted back into our back garden, avoiding the trail camera firing again as it did so.
Or... it could be the case that the hog has had enough of poddling 'round our back garden(s) on his tod - and has finally decided to go huntin'. Huntin' for a mate.
If that is the case, then... well... I'll be sad to see him go.
But the WHOLE reason that I dug that tunnel is to give him the chance TO go.
I'll leave a camera or three out tonight to see wha g'wan.
There's a good chance that one of the three cameras will record his nightly meanderings as normal (and that'll be fine)… but there's also a chance that he really has gone - so my cameras will be recording nothing - and in that case, well... good luck to the prickly little thing.
Watch this space.