page_title: Hedgehogs in New Zealand
section_title: Acclimatisation to New Zealand habitat
hierarchical_section_title: Hedgehogs in New Zealand / Acclimatisation to New Zealand habitat
caption_attribution_description: English: Swamp Harrier chick Circus approximans with hedgehog carcass presumably caught or scavenged for the chicks. Nest discovered in a swampy area on a kiwifuit orchard near Waihi, New Zealand, circa 1988.
context_page_description: European hedgehogs were brought to New Zealand by European colonists in the 1870s to remind them of their homeland. They have now spread throughout the country, being absent only in inhospitable environments. The general public has a benign attitude to them but conservationists and regional councils regard these animals as pests as they prey on native animals and compete with them for food.
context_section_description: Since coming to New Zealand the hedgehog has grown a little smaller and never reaches the size or weight of animals in Britain and continental Europe.  This is because European animals must reach a larger size and greater weight to survive the 6 month long  period of hibernation.  In central and southern New Zealand, hedgehogs hibernate for about three months of the year but few hibernate at all in the warmer northern parts of the country.
  Wild pigs, dogs, cats are predators of the hedgehog, and the flightless, endemic weka and Pukeko will prey on nestlings.  The Australasian harrier hawk scavenges road killed hedgehogs (along with anything else killed on the roads), but it is unknown whether they actively prey on them.
caption: Australasian harrier hawk chick with dead hedgehog
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