Sportyman: Hedgehogs and sport - a Bank Holiday Bonus Blog from Dr. Kevin Lally

The weight of Level 5 COVID restrictions for the October Bank Holiday weekend and beyond was lifted for me when this morning I received a fantastic new guest blog from the polymathic Dr. Kevin Lally (Twitter handle @kevinly)

Regular Sportyman2020 readers will remember Kevin's superb trilogy of blogs on Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) from last June:

1. MMA origins: https://sportyman2020.blogspot.com/2020/06/mixed-martial-arts-origins.html

2. MMA in Ireland: https://sportyman2020.blogspot.com/2020/06/mma-in-ireland-tale-of-tragedy-and.html and

3. Safety in MMA: https://sportyman2020.blogspot.com/2020/06/safety-third-part-of-kevin-lally-mma.html

Kevin's new blog is on hedgehogs - the sporting aspects. Now I have to admit that the only real association I could initially think of between hedgehogs and sport was that downward slamming action in Volleyball known as the spike (sorry). However, as you can see below, Kevin has outlined much more in the line of hedgehog-related sporting connections. And there's a little overlap with recent Sportyman blogs from Dr. Eoin Ryan on the subject of Ice Hockey.

And in the context of Level 5 restrictions and encouragement to keep individuals and families at home as much as possible, Kevin's suggestions on hedgehog hosting and watching could make for an ideal family lockdown activity.

So many thanks again Kevin, and it's over to you...

Hedgehogs

In this short blog I would like to talk about one of Ireland’s most charming native species, the European Hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus). I will introduce it in the context of Ireland’s wider fauna, as well as link it back, albeit rather whimsically, to sporting matters.

The island of Ireland is home to 26 different species of native terrestrial mammal (e.g. red squirrel, bats, pygmy shrew, ten different bat species). There are ten further species that have been introduced to Ireland after the year 1500 that are not considered true natives (grey squirrel, American mink, bank vole). Domesticated farm and pet animals, for example dogs, cats, cattle and sheep etc. also contribute to our mammalian mega fauna. There are about 15 different species of sea mammal (whale, dolphins, seals and sealions) that visit our waters from time to time. Finally, it is worth mentioning there are a number of exotic species in Zoos, wildlife parks and regrettably private collections that also contribute to the diversity of species in Ireland. Believe it or not, there is a colony of wild wallaby on Lambay island off the coast of Dublin!

Figure 1: A screenshot of a table reproduced from A new Red List of Irish terrestrial mammals provides focus for conservation (Ferdia Marnell, Naomi Kingston and Declan Looney) available at:

https://www.jstor.org/stable/24394189?seq=1

The hedgehog, or gráinneog as it is known in Irish is a small animal weighing around 400-1000g depending on the age, sex and state of nutrition. It is a relatively common visitor to Irish gardens and hedgerows. It is known as a gardeners’ friend due to its predation on snails, slugs and insects. The hedgehog is quite omnivorous and will scavenge on meat if it can find it. While a common visitor, it is not necessarily frequently seen, as they are primarily nocturnal, active at night-time.

Figure 2: A European Hedgehog

The biggest threats to hedgehogs are predictably humans, the vehicles they drive and habitat disruption. Unfortunately for some, their only contact with hedgehogs might be via sightings of roadkill. Their characteristic spines, keratin quills are quite a good defence. When startled a hedgehog will roll up into a ball and guard its soft body parts. A particularly determined badger and occasionally large birds of prey can unravel a balled up hedgehog but generally big animals like foxes, dogs and cats leave them be.

There are three other superficially similar animals with spines – the porcupines, the tenrecs and the echidnas (spiny anteaters). The porcupine, is actually a type of rodent, with long detachable quills that are quite painful and a source of infection. The tenrecs are native to Madagascar and one particular species is very similar to our European Hedgehog. The echidna, found in Australia and New Guinea is a monotreme, a type of egg-laying mammal. The echidnas are also covered in spines and will roll into a ball when threatened. This type of defence mechanism was developed independently by these three animals rather than due to a common ancestor. This is an example of convergent evolution where a similar trait independently evolved in different groups due to a similar set of environmental circumstances.

Figure 3: Example of convergent evolutions with a

echidna, porcupine and a tenrec from left to right.

From a developmental biology and genetics point of view, the hedgehog pops up again as being something quite interesting. The Hedgehog signalling pathway is a major regulator of embryonic development, with the Sonic Hedgehog gene and protein intrinsically involved in limb development. The gene is so named as when it was turned off in genetic studies on fruit flies the resulting larva had large protein denticles on their body like a spiky hedgehog (if you squint).

The most famous hedgehog of all time is Sega’s Sonic The Hedgehog. Sega needed a mascot to define what their company was and how it differed from the market leading Nintendo. They designed a blue, animal-based character to contrast with the red human of Nintendo. Sega had been developing a game prototype based on a spherical ball that could move lightning fast across the screen, the ability of a hedgehog to roll into a ball fitted nicely as did the play on real hedgehogs being slow but powered by Sega they were super-fast! It was a piece of game development, design and marketing that worked superbly and by the end of the decade Sega had surpassed Nintendo in sales in many markets.

Figure 4: Sonic the Hedgehog game

With regards to sports, there hasn’t been much use of Hedgehogs as an emblem. There is no American Football Franchise or Professional Soccer team affectionately known as the Hedgehogs (but I am open to correction!). There has been at least two uses of a Hedgehog mascot for tournament promotion - Spiky the Hedgehog the official mascot of the 2021 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Championship in Belarus and Latvia and Hero the official mascot of the 2017 Athletics World Championships in London.

Figure 5: Spiky the Hedgehog, International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF)

World Championship 2021 mascot

The Hedgehog Friendly Football League is an initiative developed by the British Hedgehog Preservation Society https://www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk/hedgehog-friendly-football-league/ to raise awareness about gardening activities that can inadvertently harm local hedgehogs.

Different football clubs can score points based on their adherence and support of the hedgehog friendly guidelines. At the time of writing Morecambe are riding high in the league on 10 points.

Here are the top tips when gardening to avoid inadvertently harming the local hedgehogs:

· If you have any scrap wood or garden material you plan to add to a bonfire (this is actually illegal in Ireland!) first move the material to a different site prior to incineration as any nesting hedgehogs can escape

· If you have any netting in your garden e.g. around plants to deter pests, please have it lifted a few inches off the ground, so the hedgehogs don’t become trapped

· If you have any drains on your property, ensure they are covered by a grate to stop a thirsty hedgehog falling down (I first encountered a hedgehog trapped in a pipe in 1999!)

· If you have a garden fence, try cutting a small (13cm) hole in it to allow hedgehogs to travel freely in and out (see my garden fence below)

· Try to avoid using slug pellets, especially those using formaldehyde as they are poisonous to the hedgehogs who eat the slugs

Finally if you would like to feed your local hedgehogs in the weeks coming up to winter you can put some dry cat food in a bowl with a bowl of water in a sheltered place. You can make a nice box out of wood which can be later used as a hibernation station or simply cut a small hole (13cm in diameter) in a upturned plastic bucket with a brick in front and this provides adequate protection from cats and dogs.