SITTING in Crook cemetery recently I noticed something small and round that was nosing about among the graves 100 yards or so away. Eventually, it dawned on me what it was – a hedgehog.
You usually think of hedgehogs as coming out at night, but you can see the occasional one in broad daylight.
It reminded me of an incident some years ago near Wackerfield (between Ingleton and Cockfield).
I was going up a lane when I saw a baby hedgehog walking 50 yards ahead. Suddenly, it let out a loud, piercing squeal – somewhere between a shriek and a whistle.
I was taken aback. Had I ever been asked to suggest the characteristic sound of hedgehogs, a muffled grunt is, I suppose, what I would have come up with.
Anyway, it was still making these noises as I turned off the lane, and I was bemused and concerned. Was the little creature in any kind of distress? Needless to say, I’d given it a wide berth thinking its mother might be nearby.
I wonder if other readers have heard hedgehogs calling like this?
It was certainly a surprise to me.
Tony Kelly, Crook, Co Durham.
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