Hedgehogs are great to have in the garden, since they eat all the things which gardeners regard as pests, such as slugs, snails, and caterpillars. They eat around 200 grams of food each night, which gives an idea of the number of garden pests removed by the hedgehog. Hedgehogs can swim, climb almost vertical walls, and run at speeds of up to two metres per second. They get their name from the pig-like snorting noise they make while snuffling through hedgerows. The males are called boars and the females are called sows.
Hedgehogs reach sexual maturity in the second year after they are born.
After emerging from their first winter in hibernation they build up their body weight, and by late April they are ready to breed. The ideal mating time would be on a warm night, usually between May and June. Mating begins when the male finds a female on his nightly hunting trip. As he approaches her, he makes lots of pig-like snorting noises, and then he shuffles round and round her, trying to gain her attention. This can sometimes go on for hours, as the female is usually more interested in foraging for food than mating.